Health Anxiety and Its Correlates in the General Chinese Population During the Covid-19 Epidemic

Bibliographic Data

ID15517523
AuthorsJia Luo (0000-0002-0445-8794, Beijing Anding Hospital), Pengchong Wang (0000-0002-0343-9938, Beijing Anding Hospital), Zhanjiang Li (0000-0001-9133-3609, Capital Medical University), Wenwen Cao (0000-0002-1554-3847, Capital Medical University), Huan Liu (0000-0001-8772-1545, Beijing Anding Hospital), Limin Meng (0009-0006-2497-1727, Capital Medical University), Jing Sun (0000-0003-0850-322X, Griffith University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Pages743409-743409
Publication date2021-11-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.743409
PMID34880789
OpenAlexW3216236813
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an adverse impact on the mental health of the general population. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and correlates of health anxiety (HA) in the general Chinese population to inform psychological interventions in COVID-19-affected areas. Methods: We conducted an online survey of the general population in mainland China between 6 and 17 February 2020 ( N = 1,450, 69.79% female; mean age = 37.5 ± 9.1 years). The Whiteley Index-7 (WI-7), COVID-19 knowledge quiz (CKQ), Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9), and socio-demographic information were surveyed using the Questionnaire-Star program. Results: The prevalence of HA, depression and anxiety were 47.3, 31.3, and 35.7%, respectively. The WI-7 score showed a significant association with age, education level, income, occupation, chronic disease and daily time focused on COVID-19. On binary logistic regression analysis, individuals with masters or higher qualification degree [odds ratio (OR) = 0.632)], older age (OR = 0.981), 2-4 h daily time focused on COVID-19 ( OR = 0.684), healthcare workers ( OR = 0.749, p = 0.046) and those with more COVID-19 related knowledge ( OR = 0.785) showed a significantly negative association with HA. Chronic disease ( OR = 1.962), depression ( OR = 1.05) and anxiety ( OR = 1.228) were significant risk factors for HA. Conclusions: HA was highly prevalent among the general population during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. More than two-fifths of the respondents had obvious HA. Chronic disease, depression and anxiety were risk factors for HA; psychological interventions offered during the pandemic should pay particular attention to these individuals

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Anxiety · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Environmental health · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Population · Psychiatry · Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Virology