Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of applied questionnaires and ratings.
| M | SD | N | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety related to SARS-CoV-2 (0–100) | ||||
| December 2019 a | 4.44 | 11.97 | ||
| January 2020 a | 10.93 | 19.37 | ||
| March 2020 a | 34.90 | 27.97 | ||
| past week | 29.20 | 25.37 | ||
| Anxiety related to other severe diseases (0–100) | ||||
| December 2019 a | 12.21 | 18.86 | ||
| January 2020 a | 13.19 | 20.16 | ||
| March 2020 a | 13.24 | 19.70 | ||
| past week | 13.22 | 19.81 | ||
| Health anxiety (SHAI) pre COVID-19 b | ||||
| total (0–54) | 14.00 | 7.13 | ||
| subscale “health anxiety” (0–42) | 11.08 | 5.97 | ||
| subscale “negative consequences of illness” (0–12) | 2.92 | 1.97 | ||
| Health anxiety (SHAI) during COVID-19 | ||||
| total (0–54) | 17.16 | 8.45 | ||
| subscale “health anxiety” (0–42) | 13.88 | 7.04 | ||
| subscale “negative consequences of illness” (0–12) | 3.29 | 2.18 | ||
| Hypochondriacal safety behavior (QSBH) pre COVID-19 c | ||||
| subscale “reassurance” (original version) (0–32) | 9.88 | 4.92 | ||
| subscale “avoidance” (original version) (0–32) | 11.26 | 6.77 | ||
| subscale “reassurance” (shortened version) (0–20) | 6.33 | 3.39 | ||
| subscale “avoidance” (shortened version) (0–20) | 4.56 | 4.29 | ||
| Hypochondriacal safety behavior (QSBH) during COVID-19 | ||||
| subscale “reassurance”—SARS-CoV-2 (0–20) | 6.53 | 3.75 | ||
| subscale “reassurance”—other severe diseases (0–20) | 5.90 | 3.53 | ||
| subscale “avoidance”—SARS-CoV-2 (0–20) | 4.36 | 4.20 | ||
| subscale “avoidance”—other severe diseases (0–20) | 4.17 | 4.49 | ||
| Preventive behavior pre COVID-19 d | ||||
| total (0–16) | 4.70 | 3.12 | ||
| Buying or using toiletries (e.g., disinfectants) | 1.21 | 1.08 | ||
| Washing hands | 2.33 | 1.10 | ||
| Buying or using respiratory masks | 0.30 | 0.85 | ||
| Avoiding places | 0.85 | 1.11 | ||
| Preventive behavior during COVID-19 | ||||
| total—SARS-CoV-2 (0–16) | 10.75 | 3.50 | ||
| total—other infections (0–16) | 5.24 | 3.45 | ||
| Buying or using toiletries (e.g., disinfectants)—SARS-CoV-2 | 2.26 | 1.23 | ||
| Buying or using toiletries (e.g., disinfectants)—other infections | 1.36 | 1.21 | ||
| Washing hands—SARS-CoV-2 | 3.35 | 0.84 | ||
| Washing hands—other infections | 2.35 | 1.19 | ||
| Buying or using respiratory masks—SARS-CoV-2 | 2.48 | 1.29 | ||
| Buying or using respiratory masks—other infections | 0.41 | 0.92 | ||
| Avoiding places—SARS-CoV-2 | 2.66 | 1.25 | ||
| Avoiding places—other infections | 1.11 | 1.25 | ||
| Most feared disease at the moment | ||||
| Infection with SARS-CoV-2 (incl. COVID-19) | 292 | 32.90 | ||
| Cancer | 107 | 12.10 | ||
| Mental disorders | 93 | 10.50 | ||
| Cardiovascular diseases | 63 | 7.10 | ||
| Respiratory diseases | 15 | 1.70 | ||
| Neurological diseases | 14 | 1.60 | ||
| Injuries/poisoning | 7 | 0.80 | ||
| Other infections | 3 | 0.30 | ||
| Others | 22 | 2.50 | ||
| No disease | 271 | 30.60 | ||
| Intolerance of uncertainty (IU-18) | ||||
| total (18–90) | 47.39 | 14.82 | ||
| subscale “reduced ability to act due to IU” (6–30) | 14.13 | 5.71 | ||
| subscale “burden due to IU” (6–30) | 16.64 | 5.61 | ||
| subscale “vigilance due to IU” (6–30) | 16.62 | 5.37 | ||
| Distress intolerance (Distress intolerance scale) | ||||
| total (10–50) | 24.63 | 9.34 |
SHAI = Short Health Anxiety Inventory. QSBH = Questionnaire for assessing safety behavior in patients with hypochondriasis. IU-18 = Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale—short version. a Anxiety related to SARS-CoV-2 and other severe diseases in December 2019, January 2020 and March 2020 were retrospectively assessed. b Health anxiety (SHAI) pre COVID-19 was retrospectively assessed. c Hypochondriacal safety behavior (QSBH) pre COVID-19 was retrospectively assessed. The shortened version only consists of items which could be assessed at the second time point (during COVID-19). d Preventive behavior pre COVID-19 was retrospectively assessed.