Depressive symptoms in the front-line non-medical workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been raising global anxiety and fear to the real or perceived health threat from the virus. This study aimed to investigate the psychological impacts and depression in the front-line non-medical workers in Wuhan, the first and the worst hit place by COVID-19.

A total of 191 front-line non-medical workers in Wuhan were recruited by online survey. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Stress Reaction Questionnaire (SRQ) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ) were used.

The results showed that 50.3% (96) participants reported the clinically significant symptoms of depression. Among them, 33.0% (63) participants were with mild depression, 10.5% (20) participants with moderate depression, 5.8% (11) with moderately severe depression, and 1.0% (2) with severe depression. Participants with depression tend to be post-90 s (the generation born after 1990s), females, with increased levels of stress reactions, increased negative affects, but lower positive affects compared to these without depression. The stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that post-90 s (β = 0.908, P = 0.016), the emotional reaction (β = 0.122, P = 0.005) and physical reaction (β = 0.124, P = 0.020) in SQR were significant independent responsible for the development of depression.

The findings of the present study suggest the targeted psychological intervention measures should be developed to improve the mental health of non-medical workers on the front-line of COVID-19 epidemic, especially the females and younger individuals.