Medical conditions, symptoms of anxiety, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in a population sample of Lima, Peru

Introduction

This study aims to determine differences between the number of underlying medical conditions, depression, and anxiety, when controlling for the covariates of age, sex, and completed education.

Methods

Participants (n = 484) indicated the number of medical conditions present during the survey, also including the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, to assess depression and anxiety, respectively.

Results

Differences were found between groups of medical conditions and the combined values of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 after controlling for the covariates mentioned above (F_4,954 = 5.78; Wilks’ Λ = 0.95; P < 0.0005). The univariate tests showed differences for PHQ-9 (F_2,478 = 8.70; P < 0.0005) and GAD-7 (F_2,478 = 11.16; P < 0.0005) between the 3 groups. Finally, post-hoc analysis showed differences between participants with one medical condition and with no medical condition (PHQ-9: M_D = 1.82; 95%CI, 0.25–3.40; GAD-7: M_D = 1.73; 95%CI, 0.55–2.91), and between participants with more than one medical condition and participants with no medical condition (PHQ-9: M_D = 3.10; 95%CI, 1.11–5.10; GAD-7: M_D = 2.46; 95%CI, 0.97–3.95).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that people who had a medical condition during the COVID-19 pandemic were more prone to developing severe symptoms of anxiety and depression.