Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health
Date Submitted: Apr 1, 2020
Date Accepted: May 11, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 4, 2020
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
ABSTRACT
Background:
The mental health consequences of the 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:
We examined risk factors, including the use of social media use, for probable anxiety and depression in the community and health professionals in the epicentre, Wuhan, China.
Methods:
We conducted an online survey via WeChat, the most widely used social media platform in China, which was administered to 1,577 community 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. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with probable anxiety and probable depression.
Results:
One fifth of respondents in the community reported probable anxiety (23·8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 22·0 to 26·4) and probable depression (19·2%; 95% CI, 17·5 to 21·5). Similarly, one in five surveyed health professionals reported probable anxiety (22·0%; 95% CI, 16·6 to 28·1) or probable depression (19·2%; 95% CI, 14·1 to 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 on excessive time spent on 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.
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