Impacto en la salud mental durante los primeros quince días de confinamiento por COVID-19 en Ecuador.

Introduction. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries began confinement due to the viral spread in the population, with various mental health consequences resulting from this measure.
Objective. To determine the levels of anxiety and depression in health personnel and the general population during the first fifteen days of COVID-19 confinement in Ecuador.
Methodology. A cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out. On May 10, 2020 (during the first fifteen days of confinement), surveys were administered using validated BAI and BECK questionnaires, with prior informed consent, to 500 rural health professionals and members of the general population (126 families), to assess anxiety and depression. Sociodemographic variables were collected, and all information was compiled in Microsoft Excel 2019. Both qualitative and quantitative variables were analyzed. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted, and parsimonious and saturated models were compared using the plausibility test.
Results. Data from 421 individuals were analyzed; most participants were female. Anxiety and depression were more frequent in the general population. Anxiety was observed in 28.59% (n = 117/421), and depression in 27.77% (n = 103/421). Participants from coastal and eastern regions had a lower probability of reporting depression compared to those from the highland region.
Conclusions. Symptoms of anxiety were more frequent in men, while depression was more common in women. Severe levels of depression and anxiety were identified in 3.8% (n = 16) and 7.84% (n = 33) of the sample, respectively.