The Prevalence and Influencing Factors for Anxiety in Medical Workers Fighting COVID-19 in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak caused by the SARS-Cov-2 virus has been sustained in China since December 2019, and could become a pandemic if we do not contain it. The mental health of frontline medical staff is a concern. In this study, we aimed to identify the influencing factors on medical worker anxiety in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of anxiety among medical staff from 10 th February 2020 to 20th February 2020 in China using the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) to assess anxiety, using the criteria of normal (≤49), mild (50-59), moderate (60-70) and severe anxiety (≥70). We used multivariable linear regression to determine the factors (e.g., having direct contact treating infected patients, being a medical staff worker from Hubei province, being a suspect case) for anxiety. We also used adjusted models to confirm independent factors for anxiety after adjusting for gender, age, education and marital status. Findings: Of 512 medical staff from China, 164 healthcare workers (32.03%) had had direct contact by treating infected patients. The prevalence of anxiety was 12.5%, with 53 workers suffering from mild (10.35%), seven workers from moderate (1.36%) and four workers from severe anxiety (0.78%). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, education and marital status), medical staff who had had direct contact treating infected patients saw higher anxiety scores than those who had not had direct contact (βvalue=2.33, CI: 0.65 -4.00; p=0.0068). Similar things were observed in medical staff from Hubei province, compared with those from other parts of China (βvalue=3.67, CI: 1.44 -5.89; p=0.0013). The most important variable was suspect cases with high anxiety scores, compared to non-suspect cases (βvalue=4.44, CI: 1.55 -7.33; p=0.0028). Interpretation: Our results highlight that government authorities should make early detection of the high risk of anxiety among medical staff a priority, and implement appropriate psychological intervention programs, to prevent medical staff from developing psychological disorders that could potentially exert an adverse effect on combating the COVID-19 epidemic. Funding Statement: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. Declaration of Interests: There are no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval from the ethics committee of the People’s Hospital of Baoan District, Shenzhen (Certificate: BYL20200202) was obtained, with written consent provided by all participants.