Chinese mental health burden during the COVID-19 pandemic

Highlights

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  COVID-19 pandemic significantly affects mental health of Chinese people.

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  Younger people had a higher rate of anxiety and depressive disorder than older people.

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  Healthcare workers were at high risk for lacking of sleep.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the Chinese mental health burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 7,236 participants assessed with anxiety disorders, depressive symptoms, and poor sleep . The overall prevalence of anxiety disorders, depressive symptoms, sleep quality were 35.1%, 20.1%, 18.2%, respectively. Younger people reported a higher prevalence of anxiety disorders and depressive symptoms than older people ( P < 0.001). Compared with other occupation, healthcare workers have the highest rate of poor sleep quality ( P < 0.001). We identified a major mental health burden of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in China. Younger people and healthcare workers were at high risk for mental illness.