Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since May 18, 2021)
Date Submitted: May 2, 2021
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
The Psychological Burden of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Traits on Medical Workers Under the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Questionnaire Survey
ABSTRACT
Background:
There are numerous reports on the psychological burden of medical workers after the COVID-19 outbreak; however, no study has examined the influence of developmental characteristics on the mental health of medical workers.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to examine whether the developmental characteristics of medical workers are associated with anxiety and depression after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Methods:
An online questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2020. The questionnaire included items on sociodemographic data, changes in their life after the COVID-19 outbreak, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits, and autism spectrum disorder traits. We performed hierarchical multiple regression analyses.
Results:
The data of 640 medical workers were analyzed. Increases in physical and psychological burden were observed in 49.1% and 78.3% of the subjects, respectively. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that ADHD traits were significantly associated with both depression (β=0.390, P<.001) and anxiety (β=0.426, P<.001). Autistic traits were significantly associated with depression (β=0.069, P<.05) but not anxiety. Increased physical and psychological burden, being female, medical workers other than physicians and nurses, fear of COVID-19, and experience of discrimination were also significantly associated with both depression and anxiety.
Conclusions:
Globally, the burden on medical workers increased. This study suggested that medical workers with higher ADHD traits may need special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citation
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Copyright
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