The impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health in general population in different areas in China

• Published in: Psychological medicine Vol. 52; no. 13; pp. 2651 - 2660
• Main Authors: Ran, Mao-Sheng, Gao, Ru, Lin, Jing-Xia, Zhang, Tian-Ming, Chan, Sherry Kit Wa, Deng, Xiao-Peng, Zhang, Bing-Zhi, Zhang, Xin-Feng, Huang, Guo-Ping, Pu, Dao-Shen, Bai, Jing-Zhen, Xu, Liu-Xiu, Liu, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; China - epidemiology; Cities; Comparative studies; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Depression - epidemiology; Disease Outbreaks; Epidemics; Female; Gender; GNP; Gross National Product; Health problems; Health status; Health surveys; Humans; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental Health; Middle schools; Original Article; Outbreaks; Outdoor activities; Pandemics; Population; Psychological problems; Psychosocial factors; Psychosocial intervention; Questionnaires; Relatives; Risk factors; Sample size; SARS-CoV-2; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Uptake; China; COVID-19; outbreak; general population; mental health; China
• ISSN: 0033-2917; 1469-8978
• DOI: 10.1017/S0033291720004717

This study aimed to explore the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health status in general population in different affected areas in China. This was a comparative study including two groups of participants: (1) general population in an online survey in Ya'an and Jingzhou cities during the COVID-19 outbreak from 10-20 February 2020; and (2) matching general population selected from the mental health survey in Ya'an in 2019 (from January to May 2019). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used. There were 1775 participants (Ya'an in 2019 and 2020: 537 respectively; Jingzhou in 2020: 701). Participants in Ya'an had a significantly higher rate of general health problems (GHQ scores ⩾3) in 2020 (14.7%) than in 2019 (5.2%) ( < 0.001). Compared with Ya'an (8.0%), participants in Jingzhou in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of anxiety (SAS scores ⩾50, 24.1%) ( < 0.001). Participants in Ya'an in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of depression (SDS scores ⩾53, 55.3%) than in Jingzhou (16.3%) ( < 0.001). The risk factors of anxiety symptoms included female, number of family members (⩾6 persons), and frequent outdoor activities. The risk factors of depression symptoms included participants in Ya'an and uptake self-protective measures. The prevalence of psychological symptoms has increased sharply in general population during the COVID-19 outbreak. People in COVID-19 severely affected areas may have higher scores of GHQ and anxiety symptoms. Culture-specific and individual-based psychosocial interventions should be developed for those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak.