Mental Health, Risk Factors, and Social Media Use During the COVID-19 Epidemic and Cordon Sanitaire Among the Community and Health Professionals in Wuhan, China: Cross-Sectional Survey
Ni MY, Yang L, Leung CMC, Li N, Yao XI, Wang Y, Leung GM, Cowling BJ, Liao Q
JMIR mental health · 248 citations
Review labels
Neutral facts our review recorded about how this study was done. They describe method, never whether we like the result.
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
Publication
- Published
- 2020-05-04 · JMIR Ment Health · vol. 7 · issue 5 · p. e19009
- Publisher
- JMIR Publications
- Cited
- 473 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 36.4× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 16 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- COVID-19 and Mental Health · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Mental Health via Writing
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic mental health, anxiety, depression, social media use, COVID-19 pandemic, cordon sanitaire, healthcare workers, community-dwelling adults, infodemic, emotional contagion, social support, Wuhan, risk factors, telemedicine, WeChat
9 authors
From HK, CN
- Michael Yuxuan Ni · correspondingUniversity of Hong Kong
- Lin YangHong Kong Polytechnic University
- Candi M C LeungUniversity of Hong Kong
- Na LiHubei Provincial Women and Children's Hospital
- Xiaoxin Iris YaoUniversity of Hong Kong
- Yishan WangUniversity of Hong Kong
Abstract
Background
The mental health consequences of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, community-wide interventions, and social media use during a pandemic are unclear. The first and most draconian interventions have been implemented in Wuhan, China, and these countermeasures have been increasingly deployed by countries around the world.
Objective
The aim of this study was to examine risk factors, including the use of social media, for probable anxiety and depression in the community and among health professionals in the epicenter, Wuhan, China.
Methods
We conducted an online survey via WeChat, the most widely used social media platform in China, which was administered to 1577 community-based adults and 214 health professionals in Wuhan. Probable anxiety and probable depression were assessed by the validated Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (cutoff ≥3) and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (cutoff ≥3), respectively. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with probable anxiety and probable depression.
Results
Of the 1577 community-based adults, about one-fifth of respondents reported probable anxiety (n=376, 23.84%, 95% CI 21.8-26.0) and probable depression (n=303, 19.21%, 95% CI 17.3-21.2). Similarly, of the 214 health professionals, about one-fifth of surveyed health professionals reported probable anxiety (n=47, 22.0%, 95% CI 16.6-28.1) or probable depression (n=41, 19.2%, 95% CI 14.1-25.1). Around one-third of community-based adults and health professionals spent ≥2 hours daily on COVID-19 news via social media. Close contact with individuals with COVID-19 and spending ≥2 hours daily on COVID-19 news via social media were associated with probable anxiety and depression in community-based adults. Social support was associated with less probable anxiety and depression in both health professionals and community-based adults.
Conclusions
The internet could be harnessed for telemedicine and restoring daily routines, yet caution is warranted toward spending excessive time searching for COVID-19 news on social media given the infodemic and emotional contagion through online social networks. Online platforms may be used to monitor the toll of the pandemic on mental health.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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