Depression and anxiety in health personnel attended at a community mental health centre during the COVID-19 pandemic in Querétaro (Mexico)

Abstract

Introduction: depression and anxiety are common phenomena that have been exacerbated in situations such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, so their analysis in healthcare workers is important. Objective: to analyse the level of depression and anxiety in health personnel attended at a Mexican community mental health centre (CMHC) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods: a cross-sectional study, which considered 106 health professionals presenting depression and anxiety between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020. The variables of interest were compared using contingency tables with the chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the risk of suffering severe depression and high anxiety relative to other diagnostic combinations. Results: the predominant gender was female (77.4%), with a mean age of 36 years. 7% of the individuals studied presented severe depression and high anxiety at the same time and, when analysed in a predictive model, it was observed that women were more likely to suffer this combination of disorders. Discussion: although gender appears to influence the presence of depression and anxiety in healthcare workers in Querétaro, other factors must be contributing to their appearance. Conclusions: the severe depression and high anxiety recorded at the CMHC of Querétaro (Mexico) are consistently associated with gender.