COVID-19-related fear and anxiety in a sample of patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study in Iran after several peaks of the pandemic

• DOI: 10.1007/s40200-023-01353-8
• Publication Date: 2024-02-14T10:02:01Z
• Authors: Shima Abbasihormozi; Azin Shirin; Roya Hosseini; Mahsa Moayedi; Ahmad Vosough Tag...; Marjan Afghan; Azam Kouhkan; Samira Vesali
• Keywords: Cross-sectional study; Snowball sampling; Pandemic; Coronavirus

The aim of this study was to assess COVID-19-related anxiety, and fear burden in diabetic patients, as a risk group for severe COVID-19.A cross-sectional online survey conducted on 111 type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients referred to a Diabetes clinics of Royan institute, and 155 healthy controls recruited from normal population using a snowball sampling technique. Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19 S) and Coronavirus anxiety scale (CAS) were used.The total score of coronavirus fear in T2DM patients was 15.79 (6.39) and in healthy controls 15.48 (5.97) (p = 0.696). The total score of coronavirus fear in T2DM patients was 15.79 (6.39) and in healthy controls 15.48 (5.97) (p = 0.696). Correlation matrix between coronavirus anxiety and fear scores in these samples confirmed that in T2DM participants CAS was significantly positively associated with FCV-19 (r = 0.407, p = 0.000). There was also statistically and positively significant correlation between CAS and FCV-19 in healthy subjects (r = 0.495, p = 0.000).The present study revealed that the level of fear and anxiety from COVID-19 was almost the same in a sample of Iranian T2DM patients and healthy controls. The pandemic with several peaks in the country cannot cause an increased anxiety and fear from COVID-19, especially in patients with diabetes.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01353-8.