Abstract

Introduction: According to WHO, although COVID-19 has been controlled, however post COVID-19 symptoms might be continued several years after that. Those conditions might cause significant impacts on patients’ mental health, especially depression.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among patients who had been clinically infected with COVID-19 at Quang Ngai city.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 600 post COVID-19 patients at Quang Ngai city. Depression was measured using Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II).

Results: More than 76% patients had at least one post COVID-19 symptomp. The prevalence of depression was 13%; 5.5% had moderate to severe depression. Depression was found to be significantly positively associated with post-COVID-19 symptoms such as long lasting fatigue, amesia, attention disorder, sleep disorder, long lasting musculoskeletal pain, stigma, obesity, having COVID-19 while being pregnant, and the number of post COVID-19 symptoms.

Conclusions: Aproximately 13% post-COVID-19 patients had depressive symptoms; 5.5% had moderate to severe depression. Promoting mental healthcare programs for post COVID-19 patients is essential.