BACKGROUND The effects of the COVID 19 pandemic on the mental health of citizens from Asia, Europe, or North America begin to be known, but there are fewer publications on its effects in Latin American countries. In this study, its impact in Ecuador is described, with data collected during the first phase of the pandemic. The objective of this study was to analyse the level of psychological distress in the population of Ecuador during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS AND FINDINGS Cross-sectional observational study. The questionnaires were collected through an online self-developed questionnaire, between April 2 and May 17, 2020, using the non-probabilistic sampling methodology: snowball method. The variables considered were sociodemographic variables, physical symptoms, health status, COVID-19 contact history, preventive measures, and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The percentage with high psychological distress (PD) (GHQ-12 ≥ 3) has been somewhat lower than that found in Europe, being women, young people, people with higher level of education, living without a partner, not living with children or children under 16 years of age, and with worse perception of health the groups with the highest PD. Differences have been observed with European studies regarding common symptoms, preventive measures to avoid contagion, percentage of infected relatives, or diagnostic tests performed. CONCLUSIONS The use of the same research instrument, validated in Europe and adapted to Ecuador, has facilitated the comparison of the found results and differences, which can be explained by socio-economic or cultural variables, the health system, level of information, or by preventive measures put in place to prevent the pandemic.

中文翻译：

---

厄瓜多尔 COVID-19 大流行第一阶段的心理困扰：横断面研究。


背景人们开始了解新冠病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行对亚洲、欧洲或北美公民心理健康的影响，但关于其对拉丁美洲国家影响的出版物较少。在这项研究中，利用大流行第一阶段收集的数据描述了其对厄瓜多尔的影响。本研究的目的是分析 COVID-19 大流行第一阶段厄瓜多尔民众的心理困扰程度。方法和结果 横断面观察研究。问卷是在2020年4月2日至5月17日期间通过在线自行开发的问卷收集的，采用非概率抽样方法：滚雪球法。考虑的变量包括社会人口统计学变量、身体症状、健康状况、COVID-19 接触史、预防措施和一般健康问卷 (GHQ-12)。高度心理困扰（PD）（GHQ-12 ≥ 3）的比例略低于欧洲，主要为女性、年轻人、受教育程度较高的人、没有伴侣生活、不与儿童同住或有儿童的人16岁以下、健康认知较差的群体PD最高。欧洲研究在常见症状、避免传染的预防措施、受感染亲属的百分比或进行的诊断测试方面观察到了差异。结论 使用在欧洲验证并适用于厄瓜多尔的相同研究工具，有助于比较所发现的结果和差异，这可以通过社会经济或文化变量、卫生系统、信息水平或通过为预防疫情而采取的预防措施。