DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS ACCORDING TO BELONGING TO A RELIGION DURING PANDEMIC IN MAIPÚ, CHILE, DURING 2022

Abstract

Introduction: A significant increase in the levels of depression, anxiety and stress has been found with the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To compare the levels of depression, anxiety and stress according to belonging to Adventism, during the pandemic in residents of the Maipú commune, 2022. Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical and correlational study, applied to a sample of 176 inhabitants of the Maipú commune, from the Metropolitan Region of Chile, using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in the population. The Mann Whitney U test was used to compare indicators of depression, anxiety and stress in both groups. Multivariate analyzes were made through logistic regression, taking as dependent variables: stress, anxiety, depression in a dichotomous way. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The Adventist population obtained better indicators, with lower scores in the subscales of depression (p=0.002) and anxiety (p<0.001), but not for stress (p=0.086). The multivariate analyzes always showed a relationship between the variables stress, anxiety, depression (p≤0.001). A statistically significant association was found between Adventism and anxiety (OR: 3.59; 95%CI: 1.19-10.82) but not Adventism with depression nor Adventism with stress. Conclusion: A statistically significant association was found between belonging to Adventism and anxiety, where non-Adventists presented greater anxiety than Adventists; however, no association was found when evaluating membership in Adventism with depression and stress.