Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Institute of Brain Science, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
BMC Psychiatry. 2020 Jul 16;20(1):376. doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02786-8.
It is hypothesized that anxiety and behavioral responses are intense at the beginning of an epidemic. The objective of this study was to investigate anxiety symptoms and use of preventive measures against COVID-19. The study also compared the association between preventive measures and anxiety symptoms during the week immediately preceding the study and those symptoms and measures at the beginning of the outbreak.
A cross-sectional population survey using an online questionnaire commenced on 14 February 2020. The study participants were residents of Taiwan ages 20 to 70 years. The 6-item state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) was used to assess anxiety symptoms. The questions about preventive measures asked participants about their personal protection, cough etiquette, contact precautions, voluntary quarantine, and prompt reporting. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the factors influencing an increase in the preventive measures scores.
Of a total of 3555 completed responses, a total of 52.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 50.4-53.7) of the respondents reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety symptoms in the past week, whereas 48.8% (95%CI 47.2-50.5) reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms at the beginning of the outbreak. With a higher score indicating greater anxiety, the median scores for anxiety symptoms in the past week and at the beginning of the outbreak were 46.7 (IQR [interquartile range] 36.7-53.3) and 43.3 (IQR 36.7-53.3), respectively. The median scores for the preventive measures taken in the past week and at the beginning of the outbreak were 26.0 (IQR 21.0-30.0) and 24.0 (IQR 19.0-28.0), respectively, out of a maximum score of 36. In the multivariable analysis, an increased anxiety symptom score from the beginning of the outbreak to the past week (adjusted OR = 7.38, 95%CI 6.28-8.66) was a strongly significant determinant of an increased preventive measures score in the past week compared with the score at the beginning of the outbreak.
Anxiety and preventive measures scores were high and increased with the epidemic rate. Higher anxiety was associated with an increased use of preventive measures against COVID-19.
据推测，在疫情开始时，焦虑和行为反应会很强烈。本研究的目的是调查 COVID-19 期间的焦虑症状和预防措施的使用情况。该研究还比较了在研究开始前一周和疫情开始时，预防措施与焦虑症状之间的关联。
2020 年 2 月 14 日开始进行横断面人群调查，使用在线问卷。研究对象为年龄在 20 至 70 岁的台湾居民。采用状态特质焦虑量表（STAI-6）的 6 项状态版本评估焦虑症状。关于预防措施的问题询问了参与者的个人保护、咳嗽礼仪、接触预防、自愿隔离和及时报告情况。采用多变量逻辑回归确定影响预防措施评分增加的因素。
在总共 3555 份完成的回复中，过去一周内有 52.1%（95%置信区间 [CI] 50.4-53.7）的受访者报告有中度至重度焦虑症状，而 48.8%（95%CI 47.2-50.5）在疫情开始时报告有中度至重度焦虑症状。焦虑症状得分越高表示焦虑程度越高，过去一周和疫情开始时焦虑症状的中位数得分分别为 46.7（IQR [四分位距] 36.7-53.3）和 43.3（IQR 36.7-53.3）。过去一周和疫情开始时采取的预防措施的中位数得分分别为 26.0（IQR 21.0-30.0）和 24.0（IQR 19.0-28.0），最高得分为 36。多变量分析显示，与疫情开始时相比，过去一周焦虑症状评分从疫情开始时增加（调整后的 OR=7.38，95%CI 6.28-8.66）是过去一周预防措施评分增加的一个强有力的决定因素。
焦虑和预防措施得分较高，并随疫情发生率而增加。较高的焦虑与 COVID-19 预防措施的使用增加有关。
