Analysis of personal and national factors that influence depression in individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a web-based cross-sectional survey

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Previous studies of infectious diseases showed that infectious diseases not only cause physical damage to infected individuals but also damage to the mental health of the public. Therefore this study aims to analyze the factors that affected depression in the public during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide evidence for COVID-19-related mental health policies and to emphasize the need to prepare for mental health issues related to potential infectious disease outbreaks in the future. Results This study performed the following statistical analyses to analyze the factors that influence depression in the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, to confirm the level of depression in the public in each country, the participants' depression was plotted on a Boxplot graph for analysis. Second, to confirm personal and national factors that influence depression in individuals, a multi-level analysis was conducted. As a result, the median Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score for all participants was 6. The median was higher than the overall median for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Paraguay, suggesting a higher level of depression. In personal variables, depression was higher in females than in males, and higher in participants who had experienced discrimination due to COVID-19 than those who had not. In contrast, depression was lower in older participants, those with good subjective health, and those who practiced personal hygiene for prevention. In national variables, depression was higher when the Government Response Stringency Index score was higher, when life expectancy was higher, and when social capital was higher. In contrast, depression was lower when literacy rates were higher. Conclusions Our study reveals that depression was higher in participants living in countries with higher stringency index scores than in participants living in other countries. Maintaining a high level of vigilance for safety cannot be criticized. However, in the current situation, where coexisting with COVID-19 has become inevitable, inflexible and stringent policies not only increase depression in the public, but may also decrease resilience to COVID-19 and compromise preparations for coexistence with COVID-19. Accordingly, when establishing policies such as social distancing and quarantine, each country should consider the context of their own country.