More than a year of pandemic: Longitudinal assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms in the argentine general population during the COVID‐19 outbreak

• Published in: Stress and health 2022-12, Vol.38 (5), p.1070-1079
• Main Authors: del‐Valle, Macarena Verónica, López‐Morales, Hernán, Gelpi‐Trudo, Rosario, Poó, Fernando Martín, García, Matías Jonás, Yerro‐Avincetto, Matías, Andrés, María Laura, Canet‐Juric, Lorena, Urquijo, Sebastián
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Aged; Anxiety; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; distress; emotional impact; Female; Gender; Humans; infectious disease; Longitudinal studies; Mental depression; mental health; Middle Aged; Pandemics; psychopathology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1532-3005; 1532-2998; 1532-2998
• DOI: 10.1002/smi.3163

The COVID‐19 pandemic has radically changed daily life and the way we interact with others. It has also brought negative psychological consequences: several studies have reported increased levels of distress symptomatology at the onset of the pandemic. However, few longitudinal studies have been carried out, and even fewer in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse longitudinally the anxiety and depressive symptomatology of the Argentine general population during the first 13 months of the pandemic. The total sample included 988 adults (ages 18–77) from different regions of Argentina. Open‐access surveys were distributed via social media at five time points (March, April, May, August 2020 and April 2021). Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed through the Beck Depression Inventory‐II and the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory. Mixed repeated‐measures ANOVA were applied, with time as a within‐subjects factor, and socioeconomic status, gender, and age group as between‐subjects factors. Results showed a progressive increases in anxiety (F (27.78, 3417.60) = 62.88, p