Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of general population in Kashmir Valley, India

Background: The high morbidity and morbidity associated with epidemics and disasters and economic losses thereof is a high psychosocial risk. Estimation of the burden of mental health issues and recognition of various risk groups will lead to better allocation of resources to prevent the increased burden of psychiatric morbidity during the epidemic.Methods: This was an online survey conducted during COVID-19 pandemic based on self reporting DASS 21 scale.Results: Among the participants 49.5% had depression, 34.8% had anxiety and 22.3% had stress in varying severity from mild to extremely severe forms. Female gender, less age, high level of education and unemployment were the risk factors for increased psychiatric morbidity.Conclusions: There is a dire need to recognize the mental health threat due to COCID-19 pandemic and implement the steps to protect the vulnerable population from it.