Fear, Anxiety and Depression among Bosnia and Herzegovina Citizens during the Third wave of COVID-19

Armin Šljivo; Alma Džubur Kulenović

doi:10.18502/ijps.v18i1.11407

Fear, Anxiety and Depression among Bosnia and Herzegovina Citizens during the Third wave of COVID-19

Armin Šljivo

Alma Džubur Kulenović

Abstract

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, fear, anxiety, and depression have become global concerns among the wider public. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of fear, anxiety and depressive symptoms associated with COVID-19, to assess influencing factors that lead to the development of these mental health conditions and to examine any changes in the mental health patterns of the society since the initial study a year ago in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Method: An anonymous online survey based on Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patients Health Questionnaires (PHQs) was conducted in the general population of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Results: From 1096 subjects, 81.3% were females, 33.8% had a high school degree, 56.4% were married, 53.4% were engaged in intellectual labor, 42.3% experienced fear, 72.9% had anxiety symptoms and 70.3% had depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and their mean age was 35.84 ± 10.86. Half (50.1%) of the subjects were COVID-19 positive and 63.8% had COVID-19 symptoms when responding to the questionnaire. Experiencing COVID-19 related fear (OR = 1.972) and having moderate to severe depressive symptoms (OR = 9.514) were associated with the development of mild to severe anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were in turn associated with the development of moderate to severe depressive symptoms (OR = 10.203) and COVID-19 related fear (OR = 2.140), respectively, thus creating a potential circulus vicious. COVID-19 positive subjects (OR = 1.454) were also more likely to develop mild to severe anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the prevalence of fear, anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms rose dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were interconnected and were significantly associated with age, gender, marital status and COVID-19 status. Therefore, an urgent mental health intervention is needed for the prevention of mental health problems.

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Issue	Vol 18 No 1 (2023)
Section	Original Article(s)
DOI	https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v18i1.11407
Keywords
Anxiety COVID-19 Depressive Symptoms Fear Pandemics

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Šljivo A, Džubur Kulenović A. Fear, Anxiety and Depression among Bosnia and Herzegovina Citizens during the Third wave of COVID-19. Iran J Psychiatry. 2022;18(1):1-10.

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