Prevalence of Hypochondriasis and its Association with Stress, Anxiety, and Depression caused by the Prevalence of COVID-19 among Pregnant Women Visiting Comprehensive Health Service Centers

Stress, anxiety, and depression caused by potential COVID-19 infection can contribute to the spread of hypochondriasis disorder.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypochondriasis and its association with stress, anxiety, and depression caused by COVID-19 prevalence among pregnant women seeking care at the comprehensive health service centers in Khaf.

A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using the census method to collect data from pregnant women in the second half of 2021. A web-based questionnaire was employed to collect data, which were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regression, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey post hoc. The level of significance was set to p <0.05.

In this study, 87 pregnant women visiting comprehensive health service centers in the city of Khaf and ranging in age from 21 to 38 were examined. Hypochondriasis was characterized by an average mean score of 41.13 ±18.06 among the women examined. In addition, the mean scores for depression, anxiety, and stress were moderate, amounting to 16.94±5.18, 13.26±4.37, and 20.57±6.03, respectively. There was a positive and statistically significant correlation between hypochondriasis and depression (r = 0.65), anxiety (r = 0.41), and stress (r = 0.42) (p <0.001).

Pregnant women should be screened for and offered psychological interventions if they exhibit signs of depression, stress, or anxiety due to COVID-19, given the positive correlation between these conditions and hypochondriasis.