Background: The world is facing a public health emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological wellbeing among individuals worldwide has been negatively affected by the pandemic especially in low- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh. The present study aimed to assess the estimate of depressive symptoms and investigated its associations with COVID-19 preventive practice measures, daily activities in home quarantine, and suicidal behaviors in a large-scale Bangladeshi online survey.
Methods: An online-based cross-sectional survey was widely distributed to Bangladeshi citizens. A total of 13,654 participants (61.0% male; mean age = 24.0 years [SD = 6.0]; age range 18-65 years) completed the survey between May and June (2020). The survey included socio-demographics and COVID-19-related questions, along with lifestyle, suicidal, and psychometric measures. Hierarchical regression was performed to determine significant associations between depression and examined variables.
Results: The estimate of depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic was 43.5%. Based on hierarchical regression analysis, depression was significantly associated with not engaging in COVID-19 preventive measures, daily activities in home quarantine (e.g., playing videogames), and suicidal behaviors.
Conclusions: Depressive symptoms appeared to be high during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. To fight against the pandemic, mental health issues as well as physical health issues need to be taken into consideration.
Keywords: COVID-19; Depressive symptoms; Home quarantine; Mental health; Suicidal behaviors.