The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital & the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Unit of Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
Transl Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 2;11(1):148. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01271-4.
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a public health emergency of international concern. In China, all schools were shut down and students were home quarantined to prevent disease spread; these steps could have potential negative effects on mental health of adolescents. This study aimed to examine changes in depression and anxiety among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 epidemic, and explore factors associated with depression and anxiety. Two survey administrations were conducted among Chinese adolescents between February 20 and February 27 and between April 11 and April 19, 2020, respectively. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale were used to assess depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, respectively. A total of 9554 and 3886 adolescents participated in the first and second surveys. During the initial survey, the prevalence of depression was 36.6% (95% CI: 35.6-37.6%) while the prevalence of anxiety was 19% (95% CI: 18.2-19.8%). Rates of depression and anxiety increased to 57.0% (95% CI: 55.4-58.6%) and 36.7% (95% CI: 35.2-38.2%), respectively, in the second survey. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed that group membership in the second survey, female gender, senior secondary school enrollment, and concerns about entering a higher grade were positively associated with both depression and anxiety. Conversely, a sleep duration of ≥6 h/day, an exercise duration ≥30 min/day, having the same as typical or higher study efficiency during the COVID-19 outbreak, and living in provinces with 1000-9999 confirmed COVID-19 cases were negatively associated with depression and anxiety. In conclusion, compared to figures reported during the COVID-19 outbreak, the prevalence of depression and anxiety in Chinese adolescents significantly increased after the initial outbreak. Regular screening and appropriate interventions are urgently needed to reduce the risk for emotional disturbances among adolescents during and after the initial COVID-19 outbreaks.
2019 冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 是国际关注的突发公共卫生事件。在中国，所有学校关闭，学生居家隔离以防止疾病传播；这些措施可能对青少年的心理健康产生潜在的负面影响。本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 疫情期间中国青少年抑郁和焦虑的变化，并探讨与抑郁和焦虑相关的因素。我们于 2020 年 2 月 20 日至 27 日和 4 月 11 日至 19 日期间，分两次对中国青少年进行了调查。采用流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（CES-D）和 7 项广泛性焦虑症量表（GAD-7）评估抑郁症状和焦虑症状。共有 9554 名和 3886 名青少年参加了第一次和第二次调查。在初次调查中，抑郁的患病率为 36.6%（95%CI：35.6-37.6%），焦虑的患病率为 19%（95%CI：18.2-19.8%）。在第二次调查中，抑郁和焦虑的患病率分别上升至 57.0%（95%CI：55.4-58.6%）和 36.7%（95%CI：35.2-38.2%）。多变量逻辑回归分析显示，第二次调查时的分组、女性、高中入学、对进入更高年级的担忧与抑郁和焦虑均呈正相关。相反，每天睡眠时间≥6 小时、每天运动时间≥30 分钟、在 COVID-19 爆发期间学习效率与典型或更高、居住地确诊 COVID-19 病例数为 1000-9999 例，与抑郁和焦虑呈负相关。总之，与 COVID-19 爆发期间报告的数字相比，中国青少年的抑郁和焦虑患病率在疫情爆发后明显上升。在 COVID-19 疫情初始阶段及之后，急需定期筛查并采取适当干预措施，以降低青少年发生情绪障碍的风险。
