Relationship between attitudes toward COVID-19 infection, depression and anxiety: a cross-sectional survey in Japan

Physical exercise/sports ameliorate the internet addiction from college students during the pandemic of COVID-19 in China

The rapid advancement of modern technology has significantly driven progress in various IT-related activities, resulting in a substantial increase in internet penetration rates, particularly among college students. The utilization of the internet has become one of the most essential tools in our modern society. However, internet addiction (IA) has emerged as a serious concern, particularly among college students, adversely affecting academic performance and having significant psychological and psychiatric implications. The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of physical exercise, gender and academic year on IA among college students. In the present study, we investigated internet usage, engagement in sports activities, and academic performance among college students from Western, Middle, and Eastern regions of Chinese universities. It's noteworthy that most of the respondents were freshmen. Our findings indicate that freshmen students were more susceptible to experiencing IA. Approximately 75% of students engaged in leisure sports activities, revealing an inverse correlation between sports activity and IA. This correlation aligns with the level of sports involvement, emphasizing the potential benefits of physical activity in mitigating IA. However, our study did not uncover any correlation between geographic location and the occurrence of IA, nor did it find differences between medical and non-medical students. Furthermore, our study revealed no significant variations in IA among students from different ethnic backgrounds. The underlying mechanism of IA is being currently determined. Our data suggest that physical exercise, gender, and academic year have a significant impact on IA among college students.

Associations between COVID-19 infection experiences and mental health problems among Chinese adults: A large cross-section study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to: 1) estimate the prevalence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and mental health problems in Chinese adults, after the relaxation of the dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy; 2) examine the relationship between multi-dimensional variables related to COVID-19 infection and mental health symptoms; 3) explore the differences in the above relationship between healthcare workers (HCWs) and general populations.

METHOD

A large cross-sectional survey of residents in Beijing was conducted from January 13th to February 9th, 2023. A total of 53,762 adults were included in our analyses.

RESULTS

The infection rate of COVID-19 was 83.6 % in our study sample. The prevalence of depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) was 20.0 % and 19.2 % in full sample, respectively. People with COVID-19 infection experience developed more mental health problems, especially for those still having physical symptoms. However, participants recovered from infection had lesser PTSS. Multi-dimensional variables related to COVID-19, i.e., infection status, frequency of infection, time from firstly tested positive, number, duration, severity of physical symptoms and the lowest SpO2, were all significantly associated with mental health symptoms. Occupational types were found to moderate the above relationships, and healthcare workers had less mental health symptoms though they had more infection exposure.

LIMITATION

This was a cross-sectional study, limiting the causal inference.

CONCLUSIONS

Multi-dimensional indicators related to COVID-19 infection are associated with mental health symptoms. The findings call for that more personalized mental health service should be delivered to the general populations with COVID-19 infection experience.

Difference in the risk of discrimination on psychological distress experienced by early wave infected and late wave infected COVID-19 survivors in Japan

The psychological distress experienced by coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) survivors after recovery from the illness is amplified by discrimination endured because of their infection status. However, the difference in the risk of facing discrimination and risk of experiencing psychological distress in the early and late waves of the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether the risk of facing discrimination because of infection status was lower in the early or late waves and whether risk of discrimination on psychological distress was more serious in later, rather than earlier waves. We conducted two online surveys to collect data from survivors divided into two groups. The participants with scores of five or more on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were identified as having experienced psychological distress. The participants were identified as having experienced discrimination based on infection status if they had endured being blamed, some type of discrimination, or having themselves or their families maligned. The timing of infection was split into infected during early waves of the pandemic for 2021 participants and infected during later waves of the pandemic for 2022 participants. Modified Poisson regression analyses were performed using experiences of discrimination as criteria and timing of infection as predictors. Modified Poisson regression analyses were further performed using the presence of psychological distress as a criteria and experiences of discrimination and timing of infection as the criteria, in addition to interaction effect of these es. The data of 6010 participants who were infected in early waves and 5344 participants who were infected in later waves were analyzed. The risks of being blamed, some forms of discrimination, and participants and their families being maligned were significantly lower in the group who were infected in later waves than those infected in earlier waves. Experiences of discrimination were highly associated with psychological distress in those infected in later waves than those infected in earlier waves, while only being blamed showed a significant association. Risk of discrimination was found to be lower in those infected in later waves, whereas risk of discrimination on psychological distress was shown to be more serious in those infected in later waves. Therefore, we submit that it is more important to support COVID-19 survivors who face discrimination, than it is to attempt to decrease the current discriminatory climate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.