Evaluation of Depression, Anxiety and Sleep Quality in the Brazilian Population During Social Isolation Due to the New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic: the DEGAS-CoV Study

Introduction: The new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has caused distress and repercussions in mental and physical health of individuals. Depression, anxiety and worsening of sleep quality have been reported in several recent articles that surveyed populations all over the globe. Our work meant to access, through a cross-sectional study, these disorders in the Brazilian population, through the application of an online questionnaire conducted on the second trimester of 2020. Materials and Methods: We applied an online questionnaire, filled with questions regarding social, economic, financial, educational and health status, as well as questions from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), and from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Results: We collected 2,695 valid answers, from April 24th to May 31st, 2020. Age ranged from 18 to 79 years, mean of 31.3. Women were 76.3%, men 23.7%. Symptoms of Anxiety were found in 56.5%, of depression in 46.1%, and of bad sleep in 49.2%. Some groups were more prone than others to one or more of those conditions, such as: younger people, women, mestizos, Northeasterners, people with lesser years of education, of lower income or whose income dropped significantly during the pandemic, caregivers, students, sedentary or people practicing less physical activity, people who followed more hours of news of COVID-19 and those less engaged in social and instrumental activities. Conclusion: anxiety, depression and bad sleep quality were significantly high in our survey. Mental and sleep health is heterogeneously affected among individuals, depending on social, economic, financial, educational and health status.