Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 281, 15 February 2021, Pages 312-320
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
Prevalence of psychological disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic in China: A real world cross-sectional study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.118Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • This study showed high prevalence of psychological disorders and associated factors.

  • It encompassed all phases of the Chinese COVID-19 epidemic, extending from early in the outbreak to the present remission for the first time.

  • It raises spcial concerns about public mental health, especially among non-HCWs involved at the remission stage of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to explore the prevalence of psychological disorders and associated factors at different stages of the COVID-19 epidemic in China.

Methods

The mental health status of respondents was assessed via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale.

Results

5657 individuals participated in this study. History of chronic disease was a common risk factor for severe present depression (OR 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.82–2.66, p < 0.001), anxiety (OR 2.41, 95% CI, 1.97–2.95, p < 0.001), and insomnia (OR 2.33, 95% CI, 1.83–2.95, p < 0.001) in the survey population. Female respondents had a higher risk of depression (OR 1.61, 95% CI, 1.39–1.87, p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR 1.35, 95% CI, 1.15–1.57, p < 0.001) than males. Among the medical workers, confirmed or suspected positive COVID-19 infection as associated with higher scores for depression (confirmed, OR 1.87; suspected, OR 4.13), anxiety (confirmed, OR 3.05; suspected, OR 3.07), and insomnia (confirmed, OR 3.46; suspected, OR 4.71).

Limitation

The cross-sectional design of present study presents inference about causality. The present psychological assessment was based on an online survey and on self-report tools, albeit using established instruments. We cannot estimate the participation rate, since we cannot know how many potential subjects received and opened the link for the survey.

Conclusions

Females, non-medical workers and those with a history of chronic diseases have had higher risks for depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Positive COVID-19 infection status was associated with higher risk of depression, insomnia, and anxiety in medical workers.

Keywords

COVID-19
Prevalence
Psychological disorder
China

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