Anxiety and depression among the adult population with prior infections of dengue with and without COVID-19

Several separate studies of impact of dengue and COVID-19 on mental health revealed that both the infections possesses severe impact on the mental health and wellbeing of people. There are very few studies showing the mental health status with the people having dengue infection and the mental health status with the people having dengue with COVID-19. The study aims to find out the mental health status of the people having dengue infection with and without COVID-19 infection.

The study was community based Comparative cross-sectional study design, in the adult population of age 18 and above in one municipality selected randomly of each district at Kathmandu valley. The sample size of the study is 598 calculated by using cross-sectional comparative two-independent sample study formula.

DASS 21 tool was administered to eligible participants through face-to-face interview. Monovariate, Bivariate (Chi-square test, and multivariate analysis (bivariate logistic regression) was done.

In bivariate analysis age (p=0.003), ethnicity (0.001), education level (p= 0.005), have chronic disease (p=0.016) showed significant association of anxiety due to both dengue with covid 19 infection. Similarly religion (p= 0.0044), Ethnicity (p= 0.001), Physical exercise (p= 0.015), habit of consumption of fruit (p=0.033) showed significant association with occurance of depression due to prior infection of dengue with covid 19. In multivariate analysis (binomial regression analysis) no significant association of infection of dengue with covid 19 was found with any independent variables while anxiety due to infection of dengue with covid 19 was found to be significant with ethnicity 0.004( AOR=2.538), habit of smoking of smoking 0.049 was found.

The study demonstrated that prior infections of dengue, with and without COVID-19, significantly influence mental health outcomes in adults in the Kathmandu Valley. Mental health services in health care setting is recommended at policy level and implemented at local level.