Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
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
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and quickly spread to the rest of China and, eventually, the rest of the world. China has been implementing strict control measures such as city lockdowns, travel bans, and within-population quarantine, and the epidemic has been brought under control by March. This epidemic and the implementation of control measures, particularly quarantine, are expected to impact the general population’s mental health, but primary research in this area is limited.

Research motivation

COVID-19 has spread to become a pandemic and may become endemic. Unfortunately, knowledge gaps always exist about disease epidemics, potential risks, and the clinical spectrum.

Research objectives

This survey was designed and conducted to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the general Chinese population.

Research methods

A detailed questionnaire, comprising of 38 questions written in both English and Chinese, was developed. The survey was conducted via WeChat, a multi-purpose messaging, social media, and mobile payment app widely used by the Chinese population. The 1082 people who participated in this survey belonged to 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.

Research results

In total, 1082 people from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities participated in the survey by filling questionnaires via the WeChat app. 97.8% of the participants had an Impact of Event-Scale-Revised (IES-R) total score above 20, which is the indicator of PTSD. The IES-R total and all three subscales, intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal, are significantly correlated with age. In addition, the degree of PTSD symptoms is correlated with age, profession, marital status, and level of education.

Research conclusions

We assessed epidemiological and clinical knowledge of COVID-19 among the general Chinese population and found that the epidemic has widely caused PTSD among the general Chinese population. These results have important implications for regions dealing with the pandemic to implement effective interventions to address these mental health issues.

Research perspectives

We emphasize the importance of launching health promotion programs to educate the general public and healthcare workers about infectious diseases in general to better prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.