Psychological status of Chinese residents during Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak: an online cross-sectional study

Objective To investigate the public psychosocial status and regional differences of Chinese residents during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic. Methods A convenience sampling method was used to distribute online self-assessment tools of mental health including the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale through WeChat and other self media platforms from January 30 to February 13, 2020. A total of 14 592 people from 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in China were evaluated on mental health. The positive detection rate was regarded as the primary outcome measure. Results The positive detection rate of SRQ-20 was 33.2% (4 840/14 592), and that of the PHQ-9 was 53.5% (7 503/14 037), with 29.3% (4 115/14 037) for mild, 14.0% (1 967/14 037) for moderate and 10.1% (1 421/14 037) for severe depression. The positive detection rate of GAD-7 was 44.6% (6 196/13 904), with 27.8% (3 862/13 904) for mild, 10.2% (1 413/13 904) for moderate and 6.6% (921/13 904) for severe anxiety. Except for a few areas, the positive rates of these three scales were almost the same all over the country, and the anxiety level of the inhabitants in Hubei province was significantly higher than that in other provinces. Conclusion As a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought obvious psychological impact to the nationwide people, with more prominent in anxiety and depression. The public is in a general group crisis in the early stage of the outbreak, especially in areas with serious epidemic situation. It is suggested that great attention should be paid to public mental health while fighting against the epidemic situation aiming at ensuring their life safety, so as to implement effective psychological assistance and timely psychological crisis intervention. Key words: Public Health Emergency; Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19); Mental health; Chinese residents; Cross-Sectional Study