Anxiety and Depression Levels of Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Effect in Menstrual Cycle

AIM: This study aimed to identify how anxiety and depression levels of female nurses were affected during the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic and its effect on their menstruation cycles. METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 522 female nurses. The data were collected using an online Google questionnaire for sociodemographic and menstrual characteristics and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, the chi-squared test, and binary logistic regression. The data were obtained from an online Google questionnaire for sociodemographic and menstrual characteristics and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale from August to October 2020. RESULTS: According to the findings, 53.3% of participants were at risk for anxiety and 66.3% were at risk for depression. While 58.6% of them had experienced menstrual irregularities in the last 6 months, 72.9 of them were at risk for depression, and 59.8 of them were at risk for anxiety. Logistic regression found a significant association between anxiety, depression, and regular menstruation. The anxiety levels of the nurses with irregular menstruation were 1.114 times higher and their depression levels were 1.119 times higher. CONCLUSION: This study determined female nurses' anxiety and depression levels during the pandemic and their effect on the nurses' menstrual patterns. Female nurses are at risk of anxiety and depression during the pandemic, and this affects their menstrual cycles negatively.