The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health in the two largest economies in the world: a comparison between the United States and China

Abstract

The broad impact of the COVID-19 on self-reported daily behaviors and health in Chinese and US samples remains unknown. This study aimed to compare physical and mental health between people from the United States (U.S.) and China, and to correlate mental health parameters with variables relating to physical symptoms, knowledge about COVID-19, and precautionary health behaviors. To minimize risk of exposure, respondents were electronically invited by existing study respondents or by data sourcing software and surveys were completed via online survey platforms. Information was collected on demographics, physical symptoms, contact history, knowledge about COVID-19, psychologic parameters (i.e. IES-R; DASS-21), and health behaviors. The study included a total of 1445 respondents (584 U.S.; 861 China). Overall, Americans reported more physical symptoms, contact history, and perceived likelihood of contracting COVID-19. Americans reported more stress and depressive symptoms, while Chinese reported higher acute-traumatic stress symptoms. Differences were identified regarding face mask use and desires for COVID-19 related health information, with differential mental health implications. Physical symptoms that were possibly COVID-19 related were associated with adverse mental health. Overall, American and Chinese participants reported different mental and physical health parameters, health behaviors, precautionary measures, and knowledge of COVID-19; different risk and protective factors were also identified. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10865-021-00237-7.

Prevalence of anxiety, depression, stress, and perceived stress and their relation with resilience during the COVID‐19 pandemic, a cross‐sectional study

“…Moreover, the intraclass correlation confidence between two executions was reported 0.78, 0.87, and 0.80 for depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. 37 DASS‐21 has been validated in assessing mental health in several countries during COVID‐19 pandemic, including Iran, 38 Philippines, 39 Poland, 13 the United States, 40 Spain, 41 and China. 42 …”

Differentiating the stress buffering functions of perceived versus received social support

“…The present study focuses on China for the following considerations. Although preliminary evidence emerged which shows that Chinese reported a lower level of stress than Americans during the peak of COVID-19 (Wang et al, 2021), the way China's government responded to the pandemic might have added to the stress level of Chinese citizens. First, the central government in China issued strict executive orders which placed millions of individuals under quarantine.…”

Sociodemographic and COVID-Related Predictors for Mental Health Condition of Mainland Chinese in Canada Amidst the Pandemic

“…Moreover, the effect of COVID-19 has been found to be prolonged on the Chinese population. For example, Mainland Chinese reported higher post-traumatic stress symptoms than other nationalities (e.g., Spanish and American) during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. It is therefore important to understand the mental health condition of Mainland Chinese during the pandemic, especially in such a multicultural society as Canada.…”