Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among General Public of India during Post-COVID-19 Second Wave: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Evidence suggests that one-third of respondents had a significant psychological impact in the lockdown period of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This indicates a need for longitudinal assessment of the psychological needs of the public to plan holistic interventions. Aim: To investigate depression, anxiety, and stress (DAS) levels among the general public post-COVID-19 second wave. Materials and Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among the general public who were aged above 15 years. The data were collected through online mode by providing a link to fill Google Form. The survey tool was disseminated in various messenger groups and social media networks. The survey tool comprises demographics, COVID-19 stressors, and DAS Scale 21 (DASS-21). Multi and Univariate linear regression analysis was used to correlate patient characteristics and COVID-19 stressors with DASS-21 subscales. Results: A total of 2515 (males = 1274; females = 1241) people participated in this web-based survey. The mean age of the study respondents was 31.3 +/- 13.4 years. The mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were 6.8 +/- 8.6, 5.0 +/- 7.3, and 7.3 +/- 8.6, respectively. The majority of the participants are normal in all sub-scales of DASS-21. Very few are experiencing symptoms of severe or extremely severe depression (4.2%, 4.3%), anxiety (3.3%, 6.9%), and stress (3.0%, 2.3%). Geriatrics, females, health-care workers, homemakers/unemployed/retired people, rural residents, and people suffering from co-morbidities have a significant elevation of DAS scores with a P < 0.05. Conclusion: Even though most of the respondents are free from the DAS symptoms, few are still (post-COVID-19 second wave) experiencing symptoms of severe or extremely severe DAS subscales. More interview-based and probability sampling future studies are warranted to minimize the biases present in the study.