Table 2.
Studies of psychiatric symptoms/disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic among the general public.
| Reference | Design study instruments | Partici-pants | Males (%) | Mean age | Country | Health care workers | Psychiatric symptom/morbidity | COVID-19 status | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Li et al., 2020b |
Case-control Weibo posts |
17,865 | 25.2 | 33 | China, variable regions | No | Words of emotions Words of concerns |
Unknown | Significant differences of emotional indicators prior to and after COVID-19 with increased anxiety, depression and indignation (all P < 0.001). |
| Sonderskov et al., 2020 |
Case-control Online survey (WHO-5) |
2458 | 49 | 49.1 | Denmark | No | Psychological well-being | Unknown | WHO-5 mean score significantly lower than in 2016 (62.0 vs 64.3 (p < 0.001)). Significantly higher proportion of female respondents with WHO-5 scores < 50 compared to 2016 (28.8% vs. 24.6%, P = 0.005), but not among males (21.8% vs. 20.0%, P = 0.110) |
| Tan et al., 2020 |
Case-control Online questionnaire (DASS-21, ISI, IES-R) |
673 | 74.4 | 30.8 | China, Chongquing | No | PTSD, anxiety, depression, stress | Unknown | Prevalence: PTSD: 10.8%, anxiety: 6.0%, depression: 5.9%, stress: 3.3%, insomnia: 2.3%, hallucinations: 3.1%, paranoid ideations: 2.2%, suicidal ideations: 1.6%. No significant difference in any items between workers/technical staff (n = 551) and management/executive staff (n = 122) (all P > 0.05) |
| Yuan et al., 2020 |
Case-control Questionnaire (HADS, VDAS, SF-36) |
100 | 43.0 | 37.0 | China, | No | Depressive, anxiety, dream anxiety | Unknown | Parents of children hospitalized during the epidemic period had significant higher scores of anxiety, depression and dream anxiety compared to parents of children hospitalized in the non-epidemic period (all p < 0.001) |
| Zhu et al., 2020 |
Case-control App-based questionnaire (SRQ-20, GAD-7, PHQ-9) |
2279 | 40.5 | Grouped | n.a. | No (yes 37.6%) | Anxiety, depression, | Unknown | Increased risk of psychological (OR: 3.593), anxiety (OR: 4.686) and depression symptoms (OR: 4.313) with impacts on daily life (all p < 0.001), but not with quarantine status between quarantine (n = 1443) and non-quarantine (n = 836) group (all p ≥ 0.303). |
| Wang et al., 2020a |
Survey (Longitudinal) National University of Singapore COVID-19 questionnaire (IES-R, DASS-21) |
1738 (333) | 32.7 | Grouped | China, variable regions | No | Anxiety, depression, stress | Unknown | No significant difference in anxiety, depression and stress symptoms in a with increasing number of confirmed cases compared to a period with increasing number of recovered cases (all P > 0.05) Overall mean score for both measuring points > 24 indicating presence of PTSD symptoms. Positively associated with stress, anxiety or depression: physical symptoms, very poor self-rating of health, and history of chronic illness (both measuring points). |
| Li et al., 2020e |
Survey Online survey (GHQ-12, perceived severity, BSCS) |
4607 | 27.5 | 23.7 | China, variable regions | No | Mental health problems | 2.3% infected | Participants with low self-control and/or higher perceived severity of COVID-19 reported more mental health problems (p < 0.001) |
| Xiao et al., 2020b |
Survey Questionnaire (PSCI-16, SAS, SASR, PSQI) |
170 | 59.4 | 37.8 | China, variable regions | No | Anxiety, sleep quality, distress, social capital | 10.6% infected | Low social capital was positively correlated with anxiety, stress and sleep quality (All p < 0.01) |
| Cao et al., 2020 |
Survey Questionnaire (GAD-7) |
7143 | 30.4 | n.a. | China, variable regions | No | Anxiety | Unknown | Severe anxiety: 0.9%, moderate anxiety: 2.7% mild anxiety: 21.3% Increased risk: relative/acquaintance infected with COVID-19 (OR = 3.007, P < 0.001) Decreased risk: living in urban areas (OR = 0.810, P = 0.002), steady family income (OR = 0.726, P < 0.001), living with parents (OR = 0.752, P = 0.017) Negatively correlated: economic worry, academic delay worry, influence on daily life (All p < 0.001). Positively correlated: social support (P < 0.001). |
| Gao et al., 2020 |
Survey Online survey (WHO-5, GAD-7) |
4827 | 32.3 | 32.3 | China, variable regions | No (yes 5.2%) |
Depression, anxiety | Unknown | Depression prevalence: 48.3%, anxiety: 22.6% Increased risk of anxiety/depression: age 31–40 compared to < 20 (OR: 1.69 95%CI: 1.07–2.68). lower educational level, lower self-rated health (OR: 1.77 95%CI: 1.41–2.21) and higher social media exposure (OR: 1.91, 95%CI: 1.52–2.41). Increased risk of depression: age 21–30 (OR: 1.49) compared to < 20 and living in urban areas. Increased risk of anxiety: living in Hubei. No difference in sex in anxiety/depression (OR: 0.90 (95%CI: 0.77–1.05) and age (OR: 1.51, 95%CI: 1.00–2.30). |
| Moccia et al., 2020 |
Survey Anonymous online questionnaire (K10, TEMPS-A, ASQ) |
500 | 40.4 | Grouped | Italy | No | Psychological distress | Unknown | 62%: No likelihood of psychological distress 19.4%: mild likelihood of psychological distress 18.6%: moderate-severe likelihood of psychological distress Moderate-severe compared to no distress: Increased risk: cyclothymic (OR = 1.24, P < 0.001), depressive (OR: 1.52; p < 0.001) and anxious (OR: 1.58; p = 0.002) temperaments, need for approval (Or = 1.08, P = 0.01). Decreased risk: confidence (OR = 0.89, P = 0.002), discomfort with closeness (OR = 0.92, P = 0.001) No difference in age (OR = 1, P = 0.97) and sex (OR = 0.58, P = 0.08). |
| Liu et al., 2020 |
Survey Questionnaire (PCL-5, PSQI) |
285 | 45.6 | Grouped | China, Hubei | No (yes: 4.2%) |
PTSS | Unknown | PTSS: 7% Positively associated factors: female, high risk public, lower education, poor sleep quality (all p < 0.001). |
| Mazza et al., 2020 |
Survey Online survey (DASS-21, PID-5-BF) |
2766 | 28.3 | 32.9 | Italy | No | Depression, anxiety, stress | Unknown | Factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms: female (all Ps < 0.001), history of stress (P = 0.001, P = 0.003) and history of medical problems (all Ps < 0.001). Factors associated with depressive symptoms: lower education (P < 0.001), not having a child (P = 0.033), relative infected (0.006), Factors associated with anxiety symptoms: young age (P = 0.001),), infected family (P = 0.013). Factors associated with stress: young age, female (all P < 0.001), going to work (P = 0.006), acquaintance infected (P = 0.018), history of stress (P = 0.035) and medical problems (P = 0.003). |
| Ozdin and Bayrak Ozdin, 2020 |
Survey Online survey (HADS, HAI) |
343 | 50.7 | 37.2 | Turkey | No | Depression, anxiety | Unknown | Factors associated with depression and anxiety (P = 0.047, P < 0.001), infected friends/relatives (P = 0.001, P = 0.014), current psychiatric illness (P = 0.020, P < 0.001), previous psychiatric illness (P = 0.036, P = 0.011). Factors associated with depression: living in urban areas (compared to rural, P = 0.029) and anxiety: chronic disease (P = 0.001). Increased risk of depression and anxiety: female (OR: 2.48, P = 0.001), previous psychiatric history (OR = 0.363, P = 0.001), Decreased risk of depression and anxiety: urban residence (vs rural, OR = 0.36, P = 0.015, OR = 0.53, P = 0.36). |
| Qiu et al., 2020 |
Survey Online questionnaire (CPDI) |
52,730 | 35.3 | n.a. | China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau | No | Anxiety, depression, specific phobias, cognitive change, avoidance and compulsive behavior, physical symptoms and loss of social functioning |
Unknown | Psychological distress: 34.4% Factors associated with higher psychological distress: female (24.87 vs. 21.41, P < 0.001), age 18–30 or > 60, migrant workers, middle region of China (all p < 0.001) |
| Roy et al., 2020 |
Survey Online questionnaire (Likert scale) |
662 | 48.6 | 29.1 | India | No | Anxiety | Unknown | 72% was worried for them self/relatives. 12% had sleep difficulties. |
| Tian et al., 2020 |
Survey Online questionnaire (SCL-90) |
1060 | 51.8 | 35.0 | China, variable regions | No (yes) |
Somatization, OCD, IS, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobica, anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. |
Unknown | Psychological symptoms (moderate or more): 70% (OC, IS, PHOB, and PSY 4 dimensions) Factors associated with more symptoms: higher ages, undergraduate education and below, divorced or widowed, and agricultural workers (all p < 0.001), No significant difference according to sex (P = 0.72) |
| Wang et al., 2020a |
Survey Online Survey (IES-R, DASS-21) |
1210 | 32.7 | Grouped | China, variable regions | No | Depression, anxiety, distress | Unknown | Experienced psychological impact moderate-severe: 53.8% Moderate-severe depressive symptoms: 16.5% Moderate-severe anxiety symptoms: 28.8% Moderate-severe stress levels: 8.1% Factors positively associated with stress, anxiety and depression symptoms: Female gender, student status, specific physical symptoms (e.g., myalgia, dizziness, coryza),and poor self-rated health (all p < 0.05) Factors negatively associated: health information, precautionary measures (all p < 0.05). |
| Zhang et al., 2020c |
Survey Survey (SF12, K6) |
369 | 55.0 | 36.6 | China, variable regions | No | Mental health, distress | Uninfected | People working at office (P = 0.01) and people working from home (P = 0.03) had better mental health compared to people who stopped working. |
Abbreviations: PCL-C: self-reported PTSD Checklist (5 or 17 items), GHQ-9/12: 9/12-item General Health Questionnaire, GAD-7: 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder, SAS: Self-rating Anxiety Scale, PSQI: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, ISI: Insomnia Severity Index, IES-R: 22-item Impact of Event Scale-Revised, SF-36: 36-Item Short Form Survey, SCL-90-R: Symptom Check List-revised, PHQ-2/4/9: Patient Health Questionnaire-2/4/9 items, BSCS: Brief Self-Control Scale, CPDI: COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index, K10: Kessler 10 Psychological Distress Scale, TEMPS-A: Italian Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire, ASQ: Attachment Style Questionnaire, PSCI-16: Personal Social Capital
Scale 16, DASS-21: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, SF12: Short Form 12, K6: six-item Kessler psychological distress scale, VDAS: Van Dream Anxiety Scale, SRQ-20: Self-Report Questionnaire (20-items), CD-RISC: Connor-Davidson resilience scale, SOS: Stress overload Scale, PSS: Perceived Stress Scale. BDI-II: Beck Depression Inventory-II, BAI: Beck anxiety inventory, AIS: Athen Insomina, Scale, PID-5-BF: Personality Inventory DSM-5-Brief-Form-Adult, HAI: Health Anxiety Inventory.