Generalized anxiety disorder and associated factors in primary health care workers in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic had direct and indirect impacts on public health, also affecting the mental health of the population. OBJECTIVE: To analyze symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and associated factors, in primary health care (PHC) professionals. METHODS: Cross-sectional and analytical study conducted with professionals who work in the Primary Health Care (PHC) of the Northern health macro-region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data collection was carried out through an online, self-administered questionnaire, made available from August 27, 2021, to October 30, 2021 using the Google Forms tool. The questionnaire included sociodemographic questions as well as questions related to the history of anxiety and work during the pandemic. To assess anxiety symptoms, the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) instrument was used. Data treatment consisted of descriptive analysis of the variables, bivariate analysis followed by multivariate Poisson Regression with robust variance. RESULTS: 702 health professionals participated in the study and the general prevalence of GAD was 32.2%. Current anxiety symptoms were self-reported by 37.6% of the participants. In the final model, the associated factors identified were: female sex (PR = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.17–2.84; p = 0.007), previous symptoms (PR = 1.58; 95% CI = 1.19–2.10; p = 0.002) and (PR = 2.68; 95% CI = 2.00–3.62; p <  0.001) current self-reported anxiety. CONCLUSION: The results show the need to implement actions in mental health promotion and anxiety prevention, through the dissemination of information about mental health care, health education activities, encouraging the adoption of healthy habits and professional monitoring when necessary.