An epidemiological survey of mental disorders 5 years after the Lushan earthquake in Ya’an, China

Gao, Ru; Zhang, Bing Zhi; Lin, J.; Peng, Shu; Yang, Chuan Gang; Tian, Guo Jiao; Bai, Jing; Xu, Lei; Li, Yu Hui; Zheng, Zai Jiang; Pu, Dao Sheng; Chan, Cecilia Lai Wan; Ran, Mao‐Sheng

doi:10.1007/s00127-020-01974-x

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Compared with participants in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19 (5.2%), the results of this study show that participants have about 2.8 times increase of general health problems (scores of GHQ ⩾3) after the COVID-19 outbreak. The results of this study are consistent with previous studies which demonstrated the severe psychological effects of COVID-19 outbreak (Gao et al, 2020a, 2020b; Qiu et al, 2020; Shi et al, 2020; Wang et al, 2020b). Moreover, there was an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 in Lushan county, Ya'an city in 2013, resulting in 196 deaths, more than 250 000 houses damaged or collapsed, and over 10 000 people injured (Hong Kong Red Cross, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Compared with the previous study in Wuhan, which reported the prevalence of depression (48.3%) and anxiety (22.6%) during the early period of the pandemic (Gao et al, 2020a(Gao et al, , 2020b, this study found the consistent prevalence of anxiety in Jingzhou (24.1%) and depression in Ya'an (55.3%), and much lower prevalence of depression in Jingzhou (16.3%) and anxiety in Ya'an (8.0%). It is reasonable that people in Jingzhou, a moderately affected area of COVID-19 near Wuhan, have a higher level of anxiety symptoms and poorer general psychological outcomes,…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

“…The GHQ total scores (scores of GHQ ⩾3) were significantly higher in Jingzhou than in Ya'an, including sub-scores of social functioning, depression/anxiety, and self-confidence. Compared with the previous study in Wuhan, which reported the prevalence of depression (48.3%) and anxiety (22.6%) during the early period of the pandemic (Gao et al, 2020a, 2020b), this study found the consistent prevalence of anxiety in Jingzhou (24.1%) and depression in Ya'an (55.3%), and much lower prevalence of depression in Jingzhou (16.3%) and anxiety in Ya'an (8.0%). It is reasonable that people in Jingzhou, a moderately affected area of COVID-19 near Wuhan, have a higher level of anxiety symptoms and poorer general psychological outcomes, which may be associated with a higher level of stress and fear responding to the higher incidence and mortality rate of the COVID-19, more strict quarantine and prolonged lockdown of the social activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…However, participants in Ya'an, a mildly affected area of COVID-19, reported significantly higher depression symptoms than Jingzhou, which may be associated with previous earthquake disasters (e.g. Lushan earthquake in 2013) in Ya'an (Gao et al, 2020a). It has been well established empirically that depression and anxiety are highly comorbid.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The samples (total: 8876 individuals) in the Ya'an mental health survey in 2019 were representative participants randomly selected from all population in Ya'an city. Detailed sampling methods and procedures of the Ya'an mental health survey in 2019 have been elaborated elsewhere (Gao et al, 2020a). In order to increase the comparability of Ya'an samples in 2019 and 2020, the matching principle [criteria: individuals in the mental health survey in 2019 match with individuals in 2020 online mental health survey ( n = 537), with the same gender and age ±2 years old] was used to select individuals ( n = 537) from the mental health survey in 2019.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health in general population in different areas in China

Ran

Gao²,

Lin

et al. 2020

Psychol. Med.

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Background This study aimed to explore the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on mental health status in general population in different affected areas in China. Methods This was a comparative study including two groups of participants: (1) general population in an online survey in Ya'an and Jingzhou cities during the COVID-19 outbreak from 10–20 February 2020; and (2) matching general population selected from the mental health survey in Ya'an in 2019 (from January to May 2019). General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used. Results There were 1775 participants (Ya'an in 2019 and 2020: 537 respectively; Jingzhou in 2020: 701). Participants in Ya'an had a significantly higher rate of general health problems (GHQ scores ⩾3) in 2020 (14.7%) than in 2019 (5.2%) (p < 0.001). Compared with Ya'an (8.0%), participants in Jingzhou in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of anxiety (SAS scores ⩾50, 24.1%) (p < 0.001). Participants in Ya'an in 2020 had a significantly higher rate of depression (SDS scores ⩾53, 55.3%) than in Jingzhou (16.3%) (p < 0.001). The risk factors of anxiety symptoms included female, number of family members (⩾6 persons), and frequent outdoor activities. The risk factors of depression symptoms included participants in Ya'an and uptake self-protective measures. Conclusions The prevalence of psychological symptoms has increased sharply in general population during the COVID-19 outbreak. People in COVID-19 severely affected areas may have higher scores of GHQ and anxiety symptoms. Culture-specific and individual-based psychosocial interventions should be developed for those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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