Network Analysis of Depressive Symptoms Among Residents of Wuhan in the Later Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: Depression has been a common mental health problem during the COVID-19 epidemic. From a network perspective, depression can be conceptualized as the result of mutual interactions among individual symptoms, an approach that may elucidate the structure and mechanisms underlying this disorder. This study aimed to examine the structure of depression among residents in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, in the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A total of 2,515 participants were recruited from the community via snowball sampling. The Patient Health Questionnaire was used to assess self-reported depressive symptoms with the QuestionnaireStar program. The network structure and relevant centrality indices of depression were examined in this sample.Results: Network analysis revealed Fatigue, Sad mood, Guilt and Motor disturbances as the most central symptoms, while Suicide and Sleep problems had the lowest centrality. No significant differences were found between women and men regarding network structure (maximum difference = 0.11, p = 0.44) and global strength (global strength difference = 0.04; female vs. male: 3.78 vs. 3.83, p = 0.51), a finding that suggests there are no gender differences in the structure or centrality of depressive symptoms.Limitations: Due to the cross-sectional study design, causal relationships between these depressive symptoms or dynamic changes in networks over time could not be established.Conclusions: Fatigue, Sad mood, Guilt, and Motor disturbances should be prioritized as targets in interventions and prevention efforts to reduce depression among residents in Wuhan, in the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms among the young adults during the post-epidemic period — Evidence from the first wave of COVID-19 in Hubei Province, China

“…This difference may be due to differences in how males and females respond to depression. Specifically, males tended to deal with depression primarily by enhancing outdoor and physical activities, while females tended to handle it through emotional release, diverse social networks or religion ( Guo et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ). However, outdoor and physical activities were greatly restricted due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which may exacerbate depressive symptoms in females ( Qi et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Specifically, males tended to deal with depression primarily by enhancing outdoor and physical activities, while females tended to handle it through emotional release, diverse social networks or religion ( Guo et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ). However, outdoor and physical activities were greatly restricted due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which may exacerbate depressive symptoms in females ( Qi et al, 2021 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, in traditional Chinese concepts, males face higher family responsibilities and financial pressure and carry heavier expectations in the society than females ( Guo et al, 2021 ; Qi et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In addition, in Hubei Province, the earliest centre of the COVID-19 epidemic storm, the residents' psychological damage and its restoration after experiencing the huge disaster should be noticed. In terms of the associated factors of depression in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, most studies focused on demographic, social or economic factors ( Duan et al, 2022 ; Tian et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2022 ; Zhao et al, 2021 ; Zhou et al, 2020 ) and ignored the effects of public cognition, employment situation, anti-epidemic experience and social relationship on depressive symptoms, causing lacking specific interventions for young adults' depressive symptoms.…”

A network analysis and support vector regression approaches for visualising and predicting the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia

“…Data from Google Mobility Report also indicated a surge of cumulative population movement (workplace, retail and recreations, parks, grocery and pharmacy, and transit stations) in Johor, Kedah, Sabah, Selangor, Terengganu, and FT Putrajaya within the quarter ( Fig. 5 ) [45] , suggesting that festive season may be one of the potential factors of COVID-19 spread [46] . Hence, the MHM shall take the necessary actions prior to the event.…”

Multifarious Linkages Between Personality Traits and Psychological Distress During and After COVID-19 Campus Lockdown: A Psychological Network Analysis

“…However, most studies have not considered the possibility of changes in internal linkages between personality traits and psychological wellbeing under different situations. Furthermore, traditional analysis provides limited exploration of the internal linkages ( 29 ). Our study fills this gap by using network analysis, that can provide insights into the effects of personality and psychological distress in various environmental contexts.…”