Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany.
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Clinic of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
J Psychosom Res. 2021 May;144:110415. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110415. Epub 2021 Mar 10.
The aim of this cross-sectional web-based study was to examine self-reported mental distress, psychosocial burdens, working conditions and potential risk and protective factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in health care workers (HCW).
In the largest survey on mental health of HCW conducted during the first wave of COVID-19 in Europe (N = 8071 HCW), we investigated depressive (Patient Health Questionnaire-2, PHQ-2), and anxiety symptoms (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2, GAD-2), working conditions, and psychosocial burden of 3678 HCW of three health care professions in hospitals: physicians (n = 1061), nurses (n = 1275), and medical technical assistants (MTA, n = 1342).
The prevalence of clinically significant levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 17.4% and 17.8% for physicians, 21.6% and 19.0% for nurses, and 23.0% and 20.1% for MTA, respectively. All three professions demonstrated significantly elevated PHQ-2 and GAD-2 scores, when compared with general German population before the pandemic, but lower scores in relation to that during the pandemic. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with insufficient recovery during leisure time, increased alcohol consumption, and less trust in colleagues in difficult situations at work. In addition, elevated anxiety scores were related to increased fear of becoming infected with COVID-19.
During the pandemic HCW demonstrated a lower burden of mental distress compared to the general population. Nevertheless, a high percentage of HCW demonstrates psychosocial distress, so that the establishment of regular mental health screening and prevention programmes for HCW is indicated.
本横断面网络研究旨在调查 COVID-19 大流行期间医护人员（HCW）自我报告的精神困扰、心理社会负担、工作条件以及抑郁和焦虑症状的潜在风险和保护因素。
在欧洲 COVID-19 第一波期间进行的最大规模的 HCW 心理健康调查中（N=8071 名 HCW），我们调查了 3678 名来自医院三个医疗保健专业的 HCW 的抑郁（患者健康问卷-2，PHQ-2）和焦虑症状（广泛性焦虑障碍-2，GAD-2）、工作条件和心理社会负担：医生（n=1061）、护士（n=1275）和医疗技术助理（MTA，n=1342）。
医生、护士和 MTA 的临床显著抑郁和焦虑症状发生率分别为 17.4%和 17.8%、21.6%和 19.0%以及 23.0%和 20.1%。与大流行前的德国普通人群相比，这三种职业的 PHQ-2 和 GAD-2 评分均显著升高，但与大流行期间的评分相比则较低。多元线性回归分析表明，较高水平的抑郁症状与休闲时间恢复不足、饮酒增加以及在工作中遇到困难时对同事的信任度降低有关。此外，焦虑评分升高与对感染 COVID-19 的恐惧增加有关。
在大流行期间，HCW 表现出的精神困扰负担低于普通人群。尽管如此，仍有相当比例的 HCW 表现出心理社会困扰，因此需要为 HCW 建立定期的心理健康筛查和预防计划。
