Psychological distress and sleep problems when people are under interpersonal isolation during an epidemic: A nationwide multicenter cross-sectional study. Issue 1 (2020) - Wang, Shu
Abstract: Background: During the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), people are under the dual pressure of interpersonal isolation and concerns about infection. An evaluation of people's psychological status and risk factors is needed to conduct target interventions. Methods: This was a nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study using quota and snowball sampling methods during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Participants' characteristics and experiences were obtained by an online questionnaire and telephone review. Psychological distress and sleep problems were measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Insomnia Severity Index. Results: A total of 23, 500 participants were recruited, and 19, 372 valid questionnaires were received from 11 centers. Overall, 11.0–13.3% of the participants had anxiety, depression, or insomnia symptoms, and 1.9–2.7% had severe symptoms. The prevalence of psychological and sleep problems has increased. Working as frontline medical staff (Odds Ratio OR = 3.406), living in Hubei Province ( OR = 2.237), close contacts with COVID-19 ( OR = 1.808), and age 35–49 years ( OR = 1.310) were risk factors for anxiety symptoms; no outside activity for 2 weeks ( OR = 2.167) and age 35–49 years ( OR = 1.198) were risk factors for depression symptoms; and living in Hubei Province ( OR = 2.376), no outside activity for 2 weeks ( OR = 1.927), and age 35–49 years ( OR = 1.262) were risk factors for insomnia symptoms. Only 1.9% of participants received counseling during the epidemic. Conclusions: Psychological and sleep problems increased during interpersonal isolation due to COVID-19. Current psychological interventions are far from sufficient.