Shah T, Shah Z, Yasmeen N, Ma ZR. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese population: An online survey. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(31): 9500-9508 [PMID: PMC8610859 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i31.9500]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zhong-Ren Ma, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, No. 1 Northwest New Village, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China. mzr@xbmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2021; 9(31): 9500-9508 Published online Nov 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i31.9500
Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese population: An online survey
Taif Shah, Zahir Shah, Nafeesa Yasmeen, Zhong-Ren Ma
Taif Shah, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, Yunnan Province, China
Zahir Shah, College of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, KP, Pakistan
Nafeesa Yasmeen, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong Province, China
Zhong-Ren Ma, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University Gansu China, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China
Author contributions: All the authors contributed to the concept of this study; Shah T, Shah Z and Ma ZR designed the study; Shah T and Yasmeen N acquired and analyzed data; Shah T, Shah Z and Yasmeen N wrote the manuscript; and all the authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The Institutional Review Ethical Committee of Northwest Minzu University reviewed and approved the protocol used in this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Data sharing statement: The aggregate data supporting the findings within this manuscript will be shared upon request submitted to the corresponding author.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhong-Ren Ma, PhD, Professor, Biomedical Research Center, Northwest Minzu University, No. 1 Northwest New Village, Lanzhou 730030, Gansu Province, China. mzr@xbmu.edu.cn
Received: July 5, 2021 Peer-review started: July 5, 2021 First decision: July 26, 2021 Revised: July 28, 2021 Accepted: September 19, 2021 Article in press: September 19, 2021 Published online: November 6, 2021 Processing time: 116 Days and 5.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic infiltrates every aspect of our life, including the psychological impact. China has experienced the first wave of this epidemic, and it is now affecting the global population.
AIM
This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the general Chinese population.
METHODS
A detailed questionnaire, comprising of 38 questions designed in both English and Chinese, was developed. The survey was conducted via WeChat, a multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app, which is widely used by the Chinese population.
RESULTS
In total, 1082 individuals from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities participated in the survey by filling the questionnaires through the WeChat app. 97.8% of the participants had an Impact of Event-Scale-Revised (IES-R) total score above 20, which is an indicator of PTSD. The IES-R total and all the three subscales, including intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal, are significantly correlated with age. In addition, age, profession, marital status, and level of education are significantly correlated with the degree of PTSD symptoms.
CONCLUSION
The COVID-19 epidemic has widely caused PTSD among the general Chinese population. These results bear important implications for regions struggling with the pandemic to implement effective interventions to cope with these mental health problems.
Core Tip: This study investigated the prevalence and associated factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the general Chinese population. Overall, coronavirus disease 2019 has caused PTSD in the Chinese population. In addition, the severity of PTSD symptoms is related to age, profession, marital status, and level of education. These findings have significant implications for pandemic-affected regions in terms of implementing effective interventions to address these mental health issues.
