Sex Differences in Prevalence and Clinical Correlates of Depression in Individuals Infected with Omicron in China.

PURPOSE

Sex differences in depression have been well recognized. However, sex differences in depression among Omicron-infected individuals have received little systematic study. This study compared sex differences in depression in infected individuals during the 2022 Omicron pandemic in China.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

506 individuals infected with Omicron (males/females = 268/238) were recruited from Tianjin and Shanghai in China. Self-developed Scale of Demographics were used to collect demographic and clinical data, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), De Jong Gierveld Scale (DJGLS), and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) were used to measure respondents' depression, anxiety, resilience, loneliness and worry, respectively.

RESULTS

The prevalence rate of depression in male patients was significantly higher than in female patients (42.2% versus 31.9%; = 5.64, = 0.018). Regression analysis showed that in female patients, depression was associated with anxiety [OR = 1.26, 95% CI (1.16-1.36), < 0.001], and resilience [OR = 0.98, 95% CI (0.96-1.00), < 0.05], while in male patients, depression was associated with anxiety [OR = 1.24, 95% CI (1.15-1.33), < 0.001].

CONCLUSION

This on-site study demonstrates that depression is more frequent in male than female Omicron-infected patients and suggests that sex differences should be considered in prevention and treatment strategies for depression during the Omicron pandemic.