Mental health in the Chilean LGBT population in times of COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction. There are few reports on mental health among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population in the context of COVID-19, especially in South America. Objective. To describe the prevalence of symptoms associated with mental health disorders, as well as to analyze the risk of their occurrence, in different groups of the Chilean LGBT population in the context of COVID-19. Method. A total of 1,181 LGBT people, ranged from 18 to 64 years participated in an online survey, using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-DASS-21. The central tendency measures were analyzed, then cut-off points were used to establish prevalence according to sex and sexual orientation. Finally, the probability of symptoms was analyzed using odds ratio. Results. Lower levels of mental health were identified among the bisexual and other sexual orientations (pansexual, demisexual, asexual, etc.) population as compared with gays and lesbians, finding a greater presence of depressive symptoms (p =.000), anxious (p =.000) and related to stress (p