Study on the correlation between mental health and socio-demographics of patients in five designated treatment hospitals in China during the COVID-19 outbreak :  a cross-sectional survey

Abstract Purpose The global epidemic of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Diseases (COVID-19) has caused many psychological problems. At present, there are few studies on the mental health status and correlation of COVID-19 patients. Methods During the peak period of COVID-19 outbreak in China, COVID-19 patients from 5 designated hospitals with new coronary pneumonia were selected by convenient sampling method. Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) were investigated by either a convenient online questionnaire at: WJX.cn as a data collecting platform or an equivalent paper questionnaire. Results It showed that the positive detection rate of SCL-90 in the COVID-19 patients was 29.83%. The most common mental health problem was anxiety (28.3%), and the top three prominent mental health problems are depression (9.4%), interpersonal sensitivity (9.4%), paranoia ideation (7.7%). Compared with the Chinese adult norm, there were significant differences in the SCL-90 total score and somatization, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety dimension (P < 0.05). The main influencing factors of mental health of COVID-19 patients are the number of confirmed cases nationwide, sex, marital status and psychological intervention. Conclusion The mental state of some groups is relatively low, which leads to depression and anxiety more easily. In particular, the most vulnerable group was found to be unmarried women who have a high occurrence rate of mental health problems. We need to pay particular attention to high risk groups, and support patients with increased susceptibility, which will require timely assessment by mental health care professionals.