Xu Zhimin, Ghisi Gabriela Lima de Melo, Cui Lixian, Zeng Fang, Zhou Xiaohai, Yue Zhongtang, Chen Hanbei
Department of Cardiology, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
JMIR Form Res. 2022 May 6;6(5):e37046. doi: 10.2196/37046.
Due to the strict measures employed to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the extent of COVID-19 goes beyond morbidity and mortality and affects individuals' mental health in the long term.
This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and its contributing factors among older people in Chengmai County, China.
A web-based survey was administered through WeChat between March and April 2020. Older people (ie, >50 years) from local and foreign community groups completed the survey, which included items on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Independent t tests and a multiple linear regression analysis were used to investigate differences between anxiety and depression and the factors associated with these symptoms across the 2 groups.
Overall, 469 responses were received; 119 responses (25.4%) were from male participants and 202 (43.1%) were from those older than 65 years. Of the 469 responses, 245 (52.2%) were from the local community group and 224 (47.8%) from the foreign group. The mean GAD-7 (P=.003) scores were significantly higher in the local group. Anxiety was significantly more present in the local group (61/245, 24.9% compared to 35/224, 15.6% in the foreign group; P=.01). A total of 6 respondents presented severe anxiety and 2 presented severe depression.
This study demonstrated that both community groups of older adults from the Chinese "Hometown of Longevity" presented anxiety or depressive disorders during the first months of the pandemic. Local community groups presented significantly more mental health disorders, which were associated with a history of previous psychological disorders.
由于采取了严格措施来控制SARS-CoV-2的传播，新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）的影响范围超出了发病率和死亡率，长期影响着个人的心理健康。
本横断面研究旨在调查COVID-19大流行对中国澄迈县老年人心理健康的影响及其影响因素。
2020年3月至4月通过微信进行了一项基于网络的调查。来自本地和外国社区群体的老年人（即年龄>50岁）完成了该调查，其中包括社会人口学和临床特征项目、7项广泛性焦虑障碍量表（GAD-7）以及9项患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）。采用独立t检验和多元线性回归分析来研究两组之间焦虑和抑郁的差异以及与这些症状相关的因素。
总体而言，共收到469份回复；119份回复（25.4%）来自男性参与者，202份回复（43.1%）来自65岁以上的人群。在469份回复中，245份（52.2%）来自本地社区群体，224份（47.8%）来自外国群体。本地组的GAD-7平均得分显著更高（P = 0.003）。本地组的焦虑情况明显更严重（245人中的61人，24.9%，而外国组为224人中的35人，15.6%；P = 0.01）。共有6名受访者表现出严重焦虑，2名表现出严重抑郁。
本研究表明，来自中国“长寿之乡”的两个老年人社区群体在大流行的头几个月都出现了焦虑或抑郁障碍。本地社区群体出现的心理健康障碍明显更多，这与既往心理障碍病史有关。
