Prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in non-health personnel at the Hospital Universitario Mayor-Méderi in Bogotá during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had multiple consequences on mental health, especially in health care workers. There are few studies that show the level of affectation of non-health care personnel who, although they are not part of the health care staff, are in an environment with a high risk of exposure. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and explore risk factors associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in non-health care personnel who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic during the last year. Methods: Observational cross-sectional analytical study. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 instruments were applied to assess mental health symptoms, as well as variables on exposure to COVID-19. Data were processed by multivariate regression. Results: A history of mental illness (OR= 6.68; 95%CI 1.56- 28.51), as well as working in the kitchen (OR 5.16; 95%CI 1.23-21.74) or in general services (OR 3.64; 95%CI 1.11-11.87) were risk factors for clinically significant anxiety. Working in the kitchen was a risk factor for clinically significant depression (OR 6.20; 95%CI 2.04-18.88). Variables assessing COVID-19 were not significant in either condition. Discussion and Conclusion: The present study suggests that non-care workers in general hospitals are at elevated risk of developing symptoms of anxiety and depression, especially those working in general services and kitchen service. However, further studies are needed to explain these results.

COVID-19; Mental health; Anxiety; Depression; Hospital staff; Mental health; Hospital staff.