Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Education, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, China
  • 2 College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
  • 3 University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Sarawak, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Psychology, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran
  • 5 College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, a member of Thailand One Health University Network (THOHUN), Bangkok, Thailand
  • 6 Institute of Clinical Psychology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
  • 7 Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 8 DHQ Hospital Jhelum, Jhelum, Pakistan
  • 9 Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam
  • 10 Faculty of Medicine, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam
  • 11 Department of Psychology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran
  • 12 Center of Excellence in Evidence-based Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
  • 13 Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
  • 14 Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
  • 15 Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
  • 16 Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
  • 17 Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN), Chiang Mai, Thailand
PLoS One, 2021;16(2):e0246824.
PMID: 33571297 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246824

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy, livelihood, and physical and mental well-being of people worldwide. This study aimed to compare the mental health status during the pandemic in the general population of seven middle income countries (MICs) in Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). All the countries used the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure mental health. There were 4479 Asians completed the questionnaire with demographic characteristics, physical symptoms and health service utilization, contact history, knowledge and concern, precautionary measure, and rated their mental health with the IES-R and DASS-21. Descriptive statistics, One-Way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression were used to identify protective and risk factors associated with mental health parameters. There were significant differences in IES-R and DASS-21 scores between 7 MICs (p<0.05). Thailand had all the highest scores of IES-R, DASS-21 stress, anxiety, and depression scores whereas Vietnam had all the lowest scores. The risk factors for adverse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic include age <30 years, high education background, single and separated status, discrimination by other countries and contact with people with COVID-19 (p<0.05). The protective factors for mental health include male gender, staying with children or more than 6 people in the same household, employment, confidence in doctors, high perceived likelihood of survival, and spending less time on health information (p<0.05). This comparative study among 7 MICs enhanced the understanding of metal health in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.