EVALUATION OF DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS AMONG PROFESSIONALS AND

STUDENTS IN THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Marta F. Nudelman , Sarah Rocha ; Rony M. Martins¹; Orlando Fernandes Junior Rachel Lana ;Raquel
a* ² ¹; ¹

Gonçalves ; Fátima Erthal ; Eliane Volchan ; Gabriela Souza³ Mirtes Pereira ; Leticia de Oliveira
¹ ² ² ¹ ¹
.

¹ Laboratório de Neurofisiologia do Comportamento (LabNeC); Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Niterói

² Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro
³ Universidade de Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais

INTRODUCTION AND AIM

Mean PHQ-9 per segment of academic High symptomatology of PHQ-9 per segment of
Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, loss of interest, and a lack of commnunity academic commnunity
motivation. It can result in a range of physical and cognitive symptoms, affecting a person's daily functioning and overall
well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in mental health problems, although the full extent of this issue

*
PHQ-9
is not yet fully comprehended. It is particularly vital to examine these effects within communities, such as the academic

%
community, that are more prone to experiencing mental health issues.
This study aims to investigate the symptoms of depression among the academic community during the COVID-19
pandemic.

METHODS
This cross-sectional study is a part of the biggest project called "Psicovida", which recruited, using internet platforms, Professorand
Professor and Graduate Students Undergraduate
Research Admnistrative Staff and PHD
members of academic communities (undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, postdoctoral researchers, Researcher students
professors, and administrative staff) from Brazilian universities and research institutes. The survey was built via Google
Figure 3. Mean PHQ-9 and Percentage of high symptomatology per segment of academic communities.
Forms and was available online between March and June 2022. A sociodemographic data survey was used to obtain
information about gender, age, and race/ethnicity. In order to measure symptoms of depression, the Patient Health Interaction between segments of Academic Community and Interaction between segments of Academic Community and
Gender Race
Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) was used.
We separated the volunteers into high and low depression symptoms based on the PHQ cutoff described in the literature
(<=9 high symptoms).
We also performed ANOVAs to compare symptoms of depression between gender, race, and different segments of the

PHQ-9
Professor Professor

PHQ-9
academic community. Undergraduate Undergraduate
Graduate Studentes Graduate Studentes
The project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the UFF (CAAE: Staffr Staffr

52739721.0.0000.5243).

RESULTS
Man Woman
Sample White Black

n = 4447 Interaction between Gender and Race

Age under 18 Years

n = 18
Not in agreement with the consent form
(n=6)
Not being part of the academic community
n = 329 Duplicate responders
PHQ-9

(n=41) Man
Woman
Not declaring gender or non-binary
(N=45)
Not declaring race, yellow or indigenous
(n=151)
Figure 1. Flow diagram representing the steps to achieve the final sample.
Final Sample
Questionnaire Battery
(I) n = 3857 White Black
Race
Sociodemographic
questionnaire Figure 4. Mean PHQ-9 scores by race, gender and segments of academic community.
Figure 1. Flow diagram representing the steps to achieve the final sample.
CONCLUSION
Sample AdministrativeTecnico
Staff Docente ensinoand
Professor Our findings suggest that, among the segments studied, students experience higher levels of depression symptoms.
19% 19% sup e pesquisador
Researchers Additionally, we observed significant effects of gender and race on these symptoms, with black women exhibiting the
37%
highest scores of depression.
Identifying the most vulnerable individuals within the academic community is crucial for directing efforts and providing
appropriate mental health support.

Graduate Students
PosDoc Undergraduate FINANCIAL SUPPORT
and PHD e Pós- Discente de Grad-
students
graduação
22%
22% uação
22%22%
Figure 2. Percentage of members of academic communities

martanudelman@id.uff.br www.psicovida.org