Chronic disease patients during the armed conflict in Sudan: a cross-sectional study on mental health and quality of life.

IF 3.4 2区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Conflict and Health Pub Date : 2025-07-25 DOI:10.1186/s13031-025-00695-9

Sohaib Mohammed Mokhtar Ahmed, Moram Elfadel Abdelrhaman Gasmalha, Ahmed Balla M Ahmed, Khalid Abusofyan Eljezoli Mohammed, Salma Alrawa, Hebatallah Fadhl, Mohanned Abdalsalam Mohammed Salih, Israa Alamin Mohammed Hussein, Asma Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Salih, Haifa Ibnomer Abdelrahman Elsharif, Hiba Atif Ahmad Elhussein, Sajda Abdelaziz Yahya Abaker, Tagwa Adil Sedahmed Khalefa, Ekhlass Hassan Hdab Hammed, Muhannad Bushra Masaad Ahmed

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Abstract

Background: Chronic diseases represent a major global health burden, with their impact becoming even more pronounced in conflict settings. In such environments, the mental health and quality of life of chronic disease patients often deteriorate due to the disruptions caused by war. This study aimed to assess mental health issues among chronic disease patients and evaluate their quality of life during the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among chronic disease patients in the safest states of Sudan during the current war. Mental health was assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 for anxiety, and quality of life was evaluated using the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level scale. Chi-square tests and Spearman's rank examined associations between socio-demographic factors and mental health outcomes. Multiple linear regression identified predictors influencing mental health issues, with statistical significance set at p ≤ 0.05.

Results: Among 1116 chronic disease patients, the median depression score was 7 (IQR = 8), with 50.3% reporting mild to moderate depression, while the median anxiety score was 6 (IQR = 8), with 47.1% experiencing mild to moderate anxiety. Depression showed significantly strong positive correlation with anxiety (ρ = 0.810, p < 0.00). In terms of health-related quality of life, the pain/discomfort domain showed 40.7% of patients reporting moderate to extreme problems, followed by the anxiety/depression domain at 43.4%, making these the most affected areas.

Conclusion: This study revealed high levels of depression and anxiety among Sudanese chronic disease patients during the war, alongside a notably poor quality of life. The findings underscore the urgent need for intervention to implement targeted mental health support programs, aiming to improve the quality of life for this vulnerable population.

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苏丹武装冲突期间的慢性病患者：关于心理健康和生活质量的横断面研究。

背景：慢性病是一项主要的全球健康负担，其影响在冲突环境中变得更加明显。在这种环境中，慢性病患者的精神健康和生活质量往往因战争造成的破坏而恶化。本研究旨在评估慢性疾病患者的心理健康问题，并评估他们在苏丹持续武装冲突期间的生活质量。方法：在当前战争期间苏丹最安全州的慢性病患者中进行了横断面研究。使用患者健康问卷-9（抑郁）和广泛性焦虑障碍-7（焦虑）评估心理健康状况，使用EuroQol 5维5级量表评估生活质量。卡方检验和斯皮尔曼秩检验了社会人口因素与心理健康结果之间的关系。多元线性回归确定了影响心理健康问题的预测因素，p≤0.05为统计学显著性。结果：1116例慢性疾病患者中，抑郁评分中位数为7分（IQR = 8），有50.3%的患者报告轻度至中度抑郁；焦虑评分中位数为6分（IQR = 8），有47.1%的患者报告轻度至中度焦虑。结论：这项研究揭示了战争期间苏丹慢性疾病患者的抑郁和焦虑水平较高，同时生活质量明显较差。研究结果强调，迫切需要采取干预措施，实施有针对性的心理健康支持计划，旨在提高这一弱势群体的生活质量。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Conflict and Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

5.60%

发文量

审稿时长

18 weeks

期刊介绍： Conflict and Health is a highly-accessed, open access journal providing a global platform to disseminate insightful and impactful studies documenting the public health impacts and responses related to armed conflict, humanitarian crises, and forced migration.