World Journal of Dentistry

Register      Login

VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 1 ( January-February, 2022 ) > List of Articles

REVIEW ARTICLE

Anxiety during COVID-19 among Saudi Arabian Population: A Systematic Review

Mohammed M Al Moaleem

Keywords : Anxiety, Anxiety index, COVID-19, Gender, Saudi Arabia

Citation Information : Moaleem MM. Anxiety during COVID-19 among Saudi Arabian Population: A Systematic Review. World J Dent 2022; 13 (1):87-94.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10015-1889

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 29-12-2021

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the level of anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic status and to investigate the association between gender, level of education, and age-group with the level of anxiety. Materials and methods: Studies measured anxiety during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia via various social media using different indexes. Name of researcher and year of publication, gender, scale used, degree of anxiety, age-groups, and educational level were assessed. Results: Fifteen studies were involved in this review, and they showed that mild anxiety during COVID-19 was the highest among Saudi patients (54%), followed by moderate (32%) and severe (13%) anxiety. Additionally, the percentages of females, young age-groups, and educated participants were higher than those of their counterparts. Healthcare workers (HCWs) recorded a higher percentage than others during the pandemic. Conclusion: Overall, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of moderate and severe levels of anxiety were high. Females and lower age-groups recorded high levels of anxiety than others. Different healthcare and educational programs must be started to minimize the level of anxiety and number of cases. Clinical significance: To overcome this problem, HCWs should undertake educational sessions with training to help and minimize their patients’ level of anxiety. Ministry of Health and Governmental hospitals should build a treatment plan and programs that aids in treatment and recovery of the patients. Also, the importance of anxiety control measures through and for the HCW population should be focused upon.


HTML PDF Share
  1. Ohman A. Fear and anxiety, evolutionary, cognitive, and clinical perceptions. In: Lewis M, Haviland JM (Ed.), Handbook of Emotions (3rd ed.). New York: The Gulliford Press; 2000: pp. 573–593.
  2. Klingberg G, Broberg AG. Dental fear/anxiety and dental behavior management problems in children and adolescents: a review of prevalence and concomitant psychological factors. Int J Paediatr Dent 2007;17(6):391–406. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2007.00872.x
  3. Al-Naggar RA, Al-Naggar DH. Prevalence and associated factors of emotional disorder among Malaysian University students. Public Health 2012;4:11.
  4. Wang C, Pan R, Wan X, et al. Immediate psychological responses, and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:1729. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17051729
  5. Huang JZ, Han MF, Luo TD, et al. Mental health survey of medical staff in a tertiary infectious disease hospital for COVID-19. Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi 2020; 38: 192–195. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.567381
  6. World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 132 2021. https://covid19.who.int/
  7. World Stats. Coronavirus Worldwide Data 2021. https://www.world-stat.info/ (Accessed July 02.07.21).
  8. Channel News Asia. Novel Coronavirus Map 2021. https://infographics.channel,news,asia.com/covid-19/map.html (Accessed 02.07.21).
  9. 5271877 Total COVID-19 Cases and 8259 Death, MOH Says (Press Release), Ministry of Health: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2021.
  10. Alyami MH, Naser AY, Orabi MAA, et al. Epidemiology of COVID-19 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: an ecological study. Front Public Health. 2020;8:506. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00506
  11. Alyami HS, Naser AY, Dahmash EZ, et al. Depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Int J Clin Pract 2021;00:e14244. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.14244
  12. Josepha R, Luccaa JM, Alshaybana D, et al. The immediate psychological response of the general population in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study. J Infect Public Health 2021;14:276–283. DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.11.017
  13. Albagmi FM, AlNujaidi HY, Al Shawan DS. Anxiety levels amid the COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia. Inter J General Med 2021;14:2161–2170. DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S312465
  14. Alyami M, de Albuquerque JV, Krägeloh CU, et al. Effects of fear of COVID-19 on mental well-being and quality of life among Saudi adults: a path analysis. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2021;9:24–30. DOI: 10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_630_20
  15. Shaikh S, Mohsin SF, Agwan MAS, et al. COVID-19: fear and anxiety among healthcare students in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. Eur J Mol Clin Med 2021;8(3):1638–1647.
  16. Temsah MH, Al Huzaimi A, Alrabiaah A, et al. Changes in healthcare workers’ knowledge, attitudes, practices, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicine 2021;100(18):e25825. DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000025825
  17. Alsharif F. Nurses’ knowledge and anxiety levels toward COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Nurs Rep 2021;11:356–363. DOI: 10.3390/nursrep11020034
  18. Alhalafi AH. Prevalence of anxiety and depression during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a web-based cross-sectional survey. J Pharm Res Inter 2020;32(27):65–73.
  19. Aloraini MI, Mohammad SM, Hejazi MS, et al. Prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder among Saudi youth during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Inter J Med Develop Count 2020;4(12):2322–2327. DOI: 10.24911/IJMDC.51-1605818315
  20. Lingawi HS, Afifi IK. COVID-19 associated stress among dental students. Open Dent J 2020;14:555–562. DOI: 10.2174/1874210602014010554
  21. Khoshaim HB, Al-Sukayt A, Chinna K, et al. Anxiety level of university students during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Front Psychiatr 2020;11:579750. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.579750
  22. Alenazi TH, Bin Shimc NF, Alenazi MH, et al. Prevalence and predictors of anxiety among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Infect Public Health 2020;13:1645–1651. DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.09.001
  23. Alamri HS, Algarni A, Shehata SF, et al. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among the general population in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:9183. DOI:10.3390/ijerph17249183
  24. Zakou YM-A, Alreshidi FS, Elsaid RM, et al. The magnitude of COVID-19 related stress, anxiety and depression associated with intense mass media coverage in Saudi Arabia. AIMS Public Health 2020;7(3):664–678. DOI: 10.3934/publichealth.2020052
  25. Mosli M, Alourfi M, Alamoudi A, et al. A cross-sectional survey on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory bowel disease patients in Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Gastroenterol 2020;26:263–271. DOI: 10.4103/sjg.SJG_220_20
  26. AlDhelai TA, Al-Ahmari MM, Adawi HA, et al. Dental anxiety and fear among patients in Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2021;22(5): 549–556. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10024-3066
  27. Jumaymi AK, Faqehi WH, Hamdi SA, et al. Level of dental anxiety and its relation to khat chewing in Jazan population: a cross-sectional study. J Contemp Dent Pract 2020;21(3):253–260. DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10024-2767
  28. Al-Khalifa KS. Prevalence of dental anxiety in two major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi J Med Med Sci 2015;3(2):135–140. DOI: 10.4103/1658-631X.156421
  29. Al Jasser RA, Almashaan G, Alwaalan H, et al. Dental anxiety among dental, medical, and nursing students of two major universities in the central region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Oral Health 2019;19(1):56. DOI: 10.1186/s12903-019-0757-x
  30. Moher D, Liberati, A, Tetzlaff J, et al. PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 2009;6:e1000097. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
  31. Herrero-Hernández S, López-Valverde N, Bravo M, et al. Root canal morphology of the permanent mandibular incisors by cone beam computed tomography: a systematic review. Appl Sci 2020;10:4914. DOI: 10.3390/app10144914
  32. Zhou P, Yang XL, Wang XG, et al. A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin. Nature 2020;579:270–273. DOI: 10.1038/s41586–020-2012–7
  33. Xiong J, Lipsitz O, Nasri F, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population: a systematic review. J Affect Disord 2020;277:55–64. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001
  34. Al-Khathami A, Ogbeide D. Prevalence of mental illness among Saudi adult primary-care patients in Central Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J 2002;23:721–724. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21243-x
  35. Lim GY, Tam WW, Lu Y, et al. Prevalence of depression in the community from 30 countries between 1994 and 2014. Sci Rep 2018;8:2861. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21243-x
  36. Albert PR. Why is depression more prevalent in women? J Psychiatry Neurosci 2015;40:219–221. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30263–2
  37. Alrubaiee, GG, Al-Qalah TAH, Al-Aawar MSA. Knowledge, attitudes, anxiety, and preventive behaviours towards COVID-19 among health care providers in Yemen: an online cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health 2020;20:1–11. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-09644-y
  38. Alkhamees AA, Alrashed SA, Alzunaydi AA, et al. The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the general population of Saudi Arabia. Compr Psychiatr 2020;102:152192. DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2020.152192
  39. Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease. JAMA Netw Open 2019;3:e203976. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
  40. Kang L, Li Y, Hu S, et al. The mental health of medical workers in Wuhan, China dealing with the 2019 novel coronavirus. Lancet Psychiatr 2020;7:e14. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30047-X
  41. Cai H, Tu B, Ma J, et al. Psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan between January and March 2020 during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Hubei, China. Med Sci Monit 2020;26: e924171. DOI: 10.12659/MSM.924171
  42. Mohindra R, Ravaki R, Suri V, et al. Issues relevant to mental health promotion in frontline health care providers managing quarantined/isolated COVID19 patients. Asian J Psychiatr 2020;51:102084. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102084
  43. de Pablo GS, Vaquerizo-Serrano J, Catalan A, et al. Impact of coronavirus syndromes on physical and mental health of health care workers: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2020;275:48–57. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102084
  44. Cai X, Hu X, Ekumi IO, et al. Psychological distress and its correlates among COVID-19 survivors during early convalescence across age-groups. Am J Geriatr Psychiatr 2020;28:1030–1039. DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.07.003
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.