Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading globally, and it is significant to pay attention to the mental health of frontline staff in this pandemic. This study is aimed to explore the sex difference among the frontline staff in demographics, characteristics of mental state, and the potential relationship between them.Method: A total of 2,614 Chinese frontline staff were recruited. The Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used for assessing the mental status of frontline staff, and the Fatigue Self-Assessment Scale (FSAS) was used for detecting fatigue.Result: The prevalence rate of anxiety for female frontline staff is higher than that of male (P = 0.003), and the prevalence rate of depression is similar between them (P = 0.091). After comparing the risk factors of unhealthy mental state between different sexes, it is found that family income below 100,000 [depression: odds ratio (OR) 1.37; 95% CI, 1.08–1.73; anxiety: OR 1.99; 95% CI, 1.44–2.75], unsupported of family (depression: OR 10.94; 95% CI, 1.39–85.79; anxiety: OR 11.92; 95% CI, 3.80–37.36), and marriage (depression: OR 1.67; 95% CI, 1.15–2.43) are risk factors for male, and total fatigue (depression: OR 2.96; 95% CI, 1.46–6.02) is risk factor for female.Conclusions: This study found that depression and anxiety are widespread among the frontline staff of COVID-19, and anxiety showed a higher prevalence rate among female frontline staff. From the sex difference in risk factors, the focus of psychological interventions may differ between genders. Men with low family income, unsupported by family or marriage, and women with a high score of total fatigue required particular attention to their psychological status.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading globally, and it is significant to pay attention to the mental health of frontline staff in this pandemic
More male participants worked as community workers, volunteers, and others than female participants
This study found that for female frontline staff, high education level is one of the risk factors of unhealthy mental state, which is inconsistent with some previous studies
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading globally, and it is significant to pay attention to the mental health of frontline staff in this pandemic. Like other public health emergencies, such as acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), the COVID-19 epidemic may cause psychological reactions, such as emotional distress, maladaptive behaviors, and defensive responses (Pfefferbaum and North, 2020; Xiang et al, 2020). According to a large web-based survey on 8,177 students, poor housing is associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms during lockdown (Tang et al, 2014). These reactions are translated by the negative effect that public health emergencies influence the well-being, health, and safety of individuals
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