Anxiety Levels Among Female Iranian Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Surge: A Cross-sectional Study

The recent surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases has exposed health care workers (HCWs) to a wide range of psychological stressors and predisposed them to anxiety-related disorders. In this study, we observed the anxiety level in this population.

This multicenter, cross-sectional study was performed on 1,038 HCWs in 14 hospitals of Tehran during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure the level of anxiety in this population.

The mean±SD age of participants was 36.30±8.23 years old. Most participants were 31 to 40 years old (43.2), female (87.6%), and nurses (49.5%). The BAI scores of the participants were in a positive skew distribution, with a score range of 0-63, a median of 12, and a mean value of 15.30±11.43. Out of 1,038 hospital staff, 411 (39.6%) had moderate to severe anxiety. The anxiety level was significantly higher in HCWs ≤40 years old, women, and nurses. However, there was no significant relationship between stress levels among frontline workers compared to second-line workers (P=0.82).

It seems that HCWs experienced a high level of anxiety in the COVID-19 outbreak. One of the critical measures in every epidemic is to provide supportive care to maintain the mental well-being of HCWs, especially in high-risk groups, including younger HCWs, women, and nurses.