The mental health impact of pandemic COVID-19 crisis on university students in Saudi Arabia and associated factors.

Introduction New Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has multiple effects. We aimed in this study to assess anxiety, depression, and stress levels among university students in Saudi Arabia and associated factors. Method We collected 5,140 participations from universities for our cross-sectional study, responders completed the demographic questions, patient health questionnaire 9 (PHQ9) for depression, generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD7) for anxiety, and perceived stress scale (PSS) between 24th and 30th of April 2020. Result 80.99% were females and mean age was 21.85 years. 40.8% had significant symptoms of anxiety, 48.8% had significant symptoms of depression, and 86.7% had moderate to high perceived stress. Being Female, younger age, living in eastern region, had a relative or acquaintances with COVID-19, and had chronic medical or mental illness are associated factors with high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Discussion COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the mental health of university students. Quick and effective interventions are mandatory.