Anxiety in Patients Treated in a Temporary Hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, During the First Epidemic Wave of COVID-19

Background: It has been reported that COVID-19 patients in general often experience anxiety, depression and stress, but those problems in patients of temporary COVID-19 hospitals seem to have attracted less attention.

Methods: The study included 87 SARS-Cov-2 infected subjects accommodated and treated in a temporary hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, during the first epidemic wave of COVID-19. The patients' level of anxiety was assessed on two occasions (at admission to the temporary hospital, and 2 weeks after discharge) using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Demographic and clinical data were obtained through questionnairesor retrieved from patients' medical records.

Results: A multiple linear regression model revealed that sex, age, the severity of COVID-19 symptoms (COVID-19_SS) and the family history of psychiatric disorder (FHPD) remain significant predictors of the level of anxiety at hospital admission (F (4, 82) = 14.916, p < 0.0001), wih an R of 0.421. Participants' predicted level of anxiety at admission to the temporary COVID-19 hospital can be calculated as 0.931-0.708 × SEX +0.029 × AGE +0.674 × COVID-19_SS + 1.491 × FHPD, where SEX is coded as 1 for male and 0 for female, AGE is measured in years, COVID-19_SS is coded as 0 for asymptomatic, 1 for mild, 2 for moderate and 3 for severe, and FHPD as 0 for negative and 1 for positive. Comparison between individual HAM-A score at admission to the temporary hospital (median (IQR): 7.00 (2.00-11.75)) and 2 weeks after discharge (median (IQR): 0.00 (0.00-1.00)) revealed significant reduction in the level of anxiety among study participants (Z = -7.53, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: These data indicate that psychological changes exist in those hospitalized in temporary hospitals, but that they regress soon after they leave.