The Psychological Burden of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Traits on Medical Workers Under the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Questionnaire Survey (Preprint)

BACKGROUND There are numerous reports on the psychological burden of medical workers after the COVID-19 outbreak; however, no study has examined the influence of developmental characteristics on the mental health of medical workers. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine whether the developmental characteristics of medical workers are associated with anxiety and depression after the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS An online questionnaire survey was conducted in October 2020. The questionnaire included items on sociodemographic data, changes in their life after the COVID-19 outbreak, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits, and autism spectrum disorder traits. We performed hierarchical multiple regression analyses. RESULTS The data of 640 medical workers were analyzed. Increases in physical and psychological burden were observed in 49.1% and 78.3% of the subjects, respectively. The results of a multiple regression analysis showed that ADHD traits were significantly associated with both depression (β=0.390, P CONCLUSIONS Globally, the burden on medical workers increased. This study suggested that medical workers with higher ADHD traits may need special attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.