Prevalence of Distress and Depression and Related Health and Behavioural Factors in the Student Population of Latvia During the COVID-19 Outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has spread across the world, has made an impact on every student’s ordinary life and mental health, from studying conditions, internship, employment to freedom of movement. This was a cross-sectional study where Latvian university and college students were asked to fill the self-report online questionnaire developed as part of an international study. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and investigate clinical depression, distress and identify the predicting factors. Depression and distress were determined using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) with a previously developed algorithm and cut-off scores. The statistical analysis included the Pearson’s chi-square test and binomial logistic regression. The study included 1047 students. The prevalence of distress was 18% (n =188) and prevalence of depression was 33.8% (n = 354). Depression was more common among women — 35.9 % (n = 298). Risk factors for depression were poor quality of sleep (OR = 8.31), unemployment (OR = 1.42), excessive internet usage (OR = 7.17), thoughts about death (OR = 12.14), and suicidal behaviour (OR = 4.99). Physical activities operated as a protective measure to prevent depression. This study potentially could help to develop a plan in the future for dealing with psychological support for the student population.