Research Paper Title

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

Background

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 Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale.

Results

5,657 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).

Limitations

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. The researchers cannot estimate the participation rate, since they 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.

Reference

Wang, M., Zhao, Q., Hu, C., Wang, Y., Cao, J., Huang, S., Li, J., Huang, Y., Liang, Q., Guo, Z., Wang, L., Ma, L., Zhang, S., Wang, H., Ahu, C., Luo, W., Guo, C., Chen, C., Chen, Y., Xu, K., Yang, H., Ye, L., Wang, Q., Zhan, P., Li, G., Yang, M.J., Fang, Y., Zhu, S. & Yang, Y. (2020) Prevalence of psychological disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic in China: A real world cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 281, pp.312-320. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.118. Online ahead of print.