Abstract
BackgroundSince the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported, considerable attention has been drawn to mental health problems among college students.ObjectiveWe aimed to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among college students in different geographical areas of China during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodsA nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese college students of 16 provinces or municipalities from February 4 to 12, 2020. A web-based survey was adopted to collect information from these college students, including demographics, perceived risk of infection, attitudes toward the epidemic and its control, and mental health status. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Chi-square test was used to compare the percentage of perceived risk of infection and attitude toward COVID-19 among college students in different geographic locations. Binary logistic models were used to identify associations between geographic locations and mental health problems after controlling for covariates.ResultsA total of 11,787 participants were analyzed in this study (response rate: 79.7%). The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among college students was 17.8% (95% CI 17.1%-18.5%) and 25.9% (95% CI 25.1%-26.7%), respectively. After controlling for covariates, current residence area in Wuhan city was found to have a positive association with anxiety symptoms (odds ratio [OR] 1.37, 95% CI 1.11-1.68) and depressive symptoms (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09-1.59). Similarly, college location in Wuhan city was found to have a positive association with anxiety symptoms (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07-1.35) and depressive symptoms (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.36). History of residence in or travel to Wuhan city in the past month was also positively associated with anxiety symptoms (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.46-1.80) and depressive symptoms (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.35-1.63). Furthermore, the perceived risk of COVID-19 was higher among students whose college location and current residence area were in Wuhan city, and it was positively associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms.ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health problems among Chinese college students were widespread and geographically diverse. Our study results provide further insight for policymakers to develop targeted intervention strategies.
Highlights
In December 2019, a new type of coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China [1]
Our results showed that the high rate of perceived infection risk of participants themselves and their family members was more elevated among female participants than among male participants
We found that anxiety and depressive symptoms were positively associated with Wuhan-based geographic locations as well as history of residence in or travel to in Wuhan
Summary
In December 2019, a new type of coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China [1] This novel virus was found to cause a pneumonia-like respiratory infection called COVID-19; the disease rapidly spread all over China and turned into a pandemic, affecting most countries globally and putting the entire world on alert [2]. Health professionals and the general public were concerned with the potential adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students [10] These concerns are consistent with earlier studies that have reported higher rates of mental health problems among college students following other disease outbreaks, such as SARS [11]. Since the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported, considerable attention has been drawn to mental health problems among college students
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