Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among the General Population during COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study in Lahore, Pakistan

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been critically affected the psychological health of people and the mental health of community during such emergency situation is prime important. The objective of current research is to assess the level of stress, anxiety and depression among the general population in the period of COVID-19 pandemic in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: The current study employed snowball sampling technique and it was an online survey that collected data regarding basic demographic profile, knowledge, physical symptoms, and history of contact and precautionary measures with respect to COVID-19. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used for assessing the mental health status. Results: The current study comprised of 382 study participants from Lahore, Pakistan. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms were 20.7%, 35.3% and 37.7 percent respectively. Age less than 35 years and male gender were statistically significantly associated with the increased likelihood of depression (p < 0.05) and the increased level of stress and anxiety (p < 0.05) was statistically significantly associated with the female gender respectively. Conclusion: In COVID-19 pandemic, staff related to medical care, teachers, students and people living at homes had mental health issues and there is a requirement for the care and recovery programs related to mental health.