Influential factors of general anxiety disorder among Iranian pregnant women during the second peak of COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the study was to determine the rate and related factors of prenatal general anxiety disorder in the second peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 2336 pregnant women who referred to health centers of Zanjan province in Iran from June to September 2020. The samples were selected using a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected by telephone using a General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD) and analyzed with descriptive statistics and the logistic regression model at a 95% confidence level. Results show that, during the pandemic of COVID-19 more than 78% of Iranian pregnant women had severe anxiety. The odds of having general anxiety disorder in urban residency was 1.80 times more than the rural residence and getting information about preventive and self-care guidelines of COVID-19 were 1.24 times more than the other information (P < 0.05). Our findings show a higher level of anxiety disorder in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also the place of residence and type of information received about COVID-19 are the main predictors of anxiety level. Therefore, the continuous monitoring of pregnant women for evaluating anxiety disorder during the outbreaks is recommended as a routine schedule.

Automated summary

The study aimed to determine the rate and factors of prenatal general anxiety disorder during the second peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. Results showed that over 78% of Iranian pregnant women experienced severe anxiety, with urban residency and receiving COVID-19 preventive information being significant predictors of anxiety levels. Continuous monitoring of pregnant women during outbreaks is recommended for evaluating anxiety disorder as a routine schedule.