Anxiety and Depression Among Rural Population Due to Lockdowns During COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001
Authors: Ritika Mittal1, Vaishnavi Gupta1, *Aabid Ashraf1,2
| 1MM Medical College and Hospital, Solan – 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India. 2Gulf Asian Medical Center, King Saudi Arabia. |
Cite:
- APA (7th edition): Mittal, R., Gupta, V., & Ashraf, A. (2025, November 14). Anxiety and depression among rural population due to lockdowns during COVID-19 pandemic. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ), 1(1). https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001
- Harvard: Mittal, R., Gupta, V. and Ashraf, A., 2025. Anxiety and depression among rural population due to lockdowns during COVID-19 pandemic. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ), 1(1), Published 14 November. Available at: https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001
- Vancouver: Mittal R, Gupta V, Ashraf A. Anxiety and depression among rural population due to lockdowns during COVID-19 pandemic. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ). 2025 Nov 14;1(1). https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001
- MLA (9th edition): Mittal R, Gupta V, Ashraf A. Anxiety and depression among rural population due to lockdowns during COVID-19 pandemic. The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ). 2025 Nov 14;1(1). https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001
- Chicago (Author–Date): Mittal, Ritika, Vaishnavi Gupta, and Aabid Ashraf. 2025. “Anxiety and Depression Among Rural Population Due to Lockdowns During COVID-19 Pandemic.” The Operating Room Global Journal (TORGJ) 1 (1), November 14. https://doi.org/10.64573/torgj2509001.
Corresponding Author*:
Dr. Aabid Ashraf
[email protected],
Declaration:
Authors’ Contribution:
All the authors have contributed to the conception of the study, study design, data acquisition, writing and formatting of the manuscript.
Conflict of Interest:
Aabid Ashraf serves on the Institutional Review Board of
The Operating Room Global (TORG).
Funding:
No funding received by the authors.
Research Ethical Approval:
It was an anonymized non-institution based descriptive study and didn’t entail ethical concerns. Due consent was taken from the participants.
Data Sharing/Data availability:
Data can be shared with permission from the authors.
.
| Article History: |
| Received: 14-08-2025 Accepted: 09-11-2025 |
| Available Online : 14-11-2025 |
| QR Code Access to this Article |
| ABSTRACT |
| Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented both in magnitude and in the fallout. While considerable attention has been given to the mental health of patients, less is known about the effects of mitigation strategies like lockdowns on the general population. We conducted a study in a rural set-up to evaluate anxiety and depression consequent upon the imposition of lockdowns during the epidemic. Aims: To analyze the relation between COVID-19 lockdowns and anxiety and depression among the rural population. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted telephonically and online through e-forms. Two study tools, GAD-7 and PHQ-9, were used to objectively evaluate anxiety and depression, respectively, among the study participants. Data was collected by the snowball sampling technique and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Adolescents, females, unmarried, students and those living in families with more than four members and hailing from plains were more likely to be depressed, while middle-aged, females, married, private employees, those living in families with more than four members and hailing from plains had higher anxiety levels. Conclusion: COVID-19 mitigation strategies had significant effects on the mental health of the general population, even in rural areas, with some particular groups affected more than others. Key Messages: What is already known on this topic Mental health effects of COVID-19 have been well studied, however predominantly in patients. Some studies have studied the fallout on the general population as well. Less is known about the impact of mitigation strategies on the mental health of the general population. What this study adds. This research finds that specific population groups did experience adverse effects on their mental health due to lockdowns employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. How this study might affect research, practice and/or policy. The study revealed the impacts of mitigation strategies on the general population and identified certain vulnerable groups. This can be used to institute policy changes, not only to cater to the present demands but to have better preparations should such a pandemic befall again. Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, COVID-19, Lockdown, Rural. |
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