Anxiety and perceived stress among students due to covid-19 pandemic in Lahore

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had the impact that may contribute to a rise in mental health problems. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly, increasing the stress and challenges for healthcare professionals around the world. Objective: To explore the levels of anxiety and perceived stress among students due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lahore, Pakistan. Methodology: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in Lahore in the duration of 6 months on n=249 participants sampled through a non-probability convenient sampling technique. Participants with an age group between 15-30 years residing in Lahore were included in the study. The survey was done on all the medical students in this range so it could not affect the generalizability of results. Students with Ongoing physical or previous mental illness were excluded. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and generalized anxiety disorder were questionnaires converted into Google Forms and were distributed to students of medical discipline through WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. Results: The mean age of the study participant was 22.0±1.94 years. The mean score of the perceived stress scale (PSS) was found to be 16.90±4.21 which showed that out of n=249 students n= 181(72.69%) reported moderate stress. While n=30(12.04%) students had low stress. While remaining high-stress levels were found among n=38(15.2%) students. The mean score of General Anxiety Disorder was found to be 18.45 ±3.16 which showed that out of 249 students, 35.74% (n= 71) students showed Mild Anxiety Level and 12.05% (n=30) showed Severe Anxiety Level. Conclusion: It was concluded that most of the medical students from Lahore reported stress and anxiety. However, higher stress and anxiety were reported among younger age groups and greater stress was found in females as compared to males. Keywords: anxiety; COVID-19; GAD- 7; mental health; perceived stress