Factors Associated With Experiences of Fear, Anxiety, Depression, and Changes in Sleep Pattern During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Adults in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMoroj A. Aldarmasi
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-18T15:17:33Z
dc.date.available2025-09-18T15:17:33Z
dc.date.issued2022-03-02
dc.description10p
dc.description.abstractFor many individuals, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of fear, depression, and anxiety; all of which can lead to changes in sleep quality and patterns. Multiple facets and characteristics of the pandemic can be attributed to these outcomes. Concerns about mortality and morbidity associated with the COVID-19, scarcity of financial resources, and uncertainty about time of recovery from associated financial hardships are partly to blame (1). Patients with COVID-19 also fear abandonment, feelings of isolation and psychological sufferings (1). Some may fear infecting friends and family members, otherwise known as contamination fear (2–4). The fear of the unknown appears to be a core component of anxiety that accompanies situations that are unpredictable and uncontrollable (5, 6). Fear of these threats is often learned, irrespective of the probability of its occurrence, and results from the inability to tolerate uncertainty (7). The intolerance of uncertainty is also related to depressive symptomatology, and the fear of COVID-19 may explain part of the relation (8). The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with up to a seven times higher prevalence of depression (9) and over 25% mental deterioration in some populations (10, 11). Persons with prior history of mental health disorders had higher rates of depression during the pandemic (12). Depressive symptoms were associated with testing positive for COVID-19 or having COVID-19 symptoms, exposure to social media, poor social support, unemployment, uncertainty about the future of jobs, and careers and economic crisis, especially for students (9). As with fear, depression is associated with anxiety (13, 14). The prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic is higher than 30% (15); and anxiety is higher in people with poor health (16). Anxiety disorder may lead to dysfunctional arousal that in turn results in persistent sleep-wake difficulties such as insomnia and hypersomnia (17, 18). Sleep disturbance is also a diagnostic symptom for generalized anxiety disorder (19), with young people being the worse-affected (20). Though the prevalence of sleep problems, fear, anxiety and depression increased during the pandemic (21, 22), the impact may, however, differ between populations (23, 24). Fear, anxiety, depression and sleep disorder may be lower in the general population than it is in populations living with co-morbidities. Understanding the association between negative emotions and sleep pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic is important. However, research in this field is scarce (20). We hypothesize that respondent's COVID-19 related status would be associated with the experience of fear, depression, anxiety and changes in sleep pattern during the pandemic; that more people living with HIV will experience fear, anxiety, depression and sleep disorder; and that more people with fear, anxiety, depression and sleep disorder will use COVID-19 preventive measures.
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging
dc.identifier.citationFolayan, M. O., Ibigbami, O., Brown, B., El Tantawi, M., Aly, N. M., Ezechi, O. C., ... & Nguyen, A. L. (2022). Factors associated with experiences of fear, anxiety, depression, and changes in sleep pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. Frontiers in public health, 10.
dc.identifier.doi10.7759/cureus.25106
dc.identifier.issn10.1002/npr2.12138
dc.identifier.issn2168-8184
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.oauife.edu.ng/handle/123456789/6962
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherFrontiers in Public Health
dc.relation.ispartofCureus
dc.titleFactors Associated With Experiences of Fear, Anxiety, Depression, and Changes in Sleep Pattern During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Adults in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Study
dc.typejournal-article
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Factors Associated With Experiences of Fear, Anxiety, Depression, and Changes in Sleep Pattern During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Adults in Nigeria_A Cross-Sectional Study.pdf
Size:
253.04 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Department of Child Dental Health- Journal Articles