Cheng Chen, Rao Ying-Bo, Lu Yun-Rong
Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China.
Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, Zhejiang, China.
Psychiatry Clin Psychopharmacol. 2021 Jun 1;31(2):206-212. doi: 10.5152/pcp.2021.21847. eCollection 2021 Jun.
In early December 2019, during the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in Wuhan, COVID-19 was suspected, detected, and confirmed in an increasing number of patients every day. The clinical laboratory staff have always played an important role in the laboratory diagnosis of patients. Currently, there are many research studies on the mental health of the first-line doctors or nurses managing the COVID-19 outbreak, both domestically and overseas, but data of the mental health and associated factors among the clinical laboratory staff who handle the blood or biological samples of confirmed cases and are consequently exposed to COVID-19 are limited.
This cross-sectional survey-based study was performed via an online survey in a single designated hospital from April 20 to April 23, 2020 in Yiwu,China. The online survey included questions on sociodemographic and clinical variables. Totally, 45 clinical laboratory staff and 20 nonmedical health workers participated. Mental health variables were assessed via 4 Chinese versions of validated measurement tools : Zung's Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ).
Significant differences were observed in the SDS and SAS scores, between the clinical laboratory staff and the nonmedical health workers ( < .001, < .003, respectively). The scores for exposure risk and neuroticism of participants were the main factors influencing both the SDS scores of the clinical laboratory staff ( = .002, = .005, respectively), and also their SAS scores ( = .003 = .006, respectively).
The results showed that a significant proportion of clinical laboratory staff experienced anxiety and depression symptoms. Their scores for mental health problems, exposure risk, and neuroticism were associated with severe symptoms of depression and anxiety. Therefore, the high-risk group of the clinical laboratory staff and those individuals with higher neuroticism scores may need special attention.
2019年12月初，在武汉首次检测到严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）疫情期间，每天都有越来越多的患者被怀疑、检测并确诊感染2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）。临床实验室工作人员在患者的实验室诊断中一直发挥着重要作用。目前，国内外有许多关于管理COVID-19疫情的一线医生或护士心理健康的研究，但处理确诊病例血液或生物样本并因此接触COVID-19的临床实验室工作人员的心理健康及相关因素的数据有限。
本横断面调查研究于2020年4月20日至4月23日在中国义乌的一家指定医院通过在线调查进行。在线调查包括社会人口统计学和临床变量方面的问题。共有45名临床实验室工作人员和20名非医疗卫生工作者参与。通过4种中文版的有效测量工具评估心理健康变量：zung氏自评抑郁量表（SDS）、zung氏自评焦虑量表（SAS）、匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）和艾森克人格问卷（EPQ）。
临床实验室工作人员与非医疗卫生工作者在SDS和SAS评分上存在显著差异（分别为P<0.001，P<0.003）。参与者的暴露风险得分和神经质得分是影响临床实验室工作人员SDS评分（分别为P = 0.002，P = 0.005）及其SAS评分（分别为P = 0.003，P = 0.006）的主要因素。
结果表明，相当一部分临床实验室工作人员出现焦虑和抑郁症状。他们的心理健康问题、暴露风险和神经质得分与严重的抑郁和焦虑症状相关。因此，临床实验室工作人员这一高危群体以及神经质得分较高的个体可能需要特别关注。
