ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2020
Mental health crisis under COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, China.
Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06190327 (Effects of a Blended Indoor and Outdoor Physical Exercise Program on Depressive Symptoms in Hong Kong Older Adults), which is not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of a Blended Indoor and Outdoor Physical Exercise Program on Depressive Symptoms in Hong Kong Older Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A narrative systematic review of changes in mental health symptoms from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic.Psychological medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 2 million people.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Mental disorders following COVID-19 and other epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Anxiety and Depression in Chinese Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2021Pooled it
- Virtual Reality-Based Intervention to Reduce Preoperative Anxiety in Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Effects of Transcranial Pulse Stimulation (TPS) on Adults with Symptoms of Depression-A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Trial
- Changes in mental health stigma and well-being: knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions among Hong Kong residents between 2021 and 2023.BJPsych open · 2025Article
- Should I Stay at Home Alone? Lived Experiences of Loneliness Among Older Adults: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Associations of Home-Based Individual and Family Exercise with Personal and Family Well-Being Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Based Survey in Hong Kong.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Incidence of Deliberate Self-Harm in Hong Kong Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Population-Wide Retrospective Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- User experiences of patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome receiving occupational therapy telerehabilitation.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Conceptualizing mental health stigma in organizational settings: a sociolinguistic perspective.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Article
- Effectiveness of tele-exercise training on physical fitness, functional capacity, and health-related quality of life in non-hospitalized individuals with COVID-19: The COFIT-HK study.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2024Article
- The Prevalence of Depression among the Global Public in the Context of the COVID-19 Epidemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Iranian journal of public health · 2024Review
- Article
- Temporal dynamics of socioeconomic inequalities in depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Do Scholars Respond Faster Than Google Trends in Discussing COVID-19 Issues? An Approach to Textual Big Data.Health data science · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare the mental health burden before and during the COVID-19 outbreak and identify the vulnerable groups by sociodemographic factors.
methodsWe analyzed repeated cross-sectional data from the Hong Kong Family and Health Information Trend Survey (FHInTS) in 2016 (N = 4036) and 2017 (N = 4051) and the COVID-19 Health Information Survey (CoVHInS) in April 9-23, 2020 (N = 1501) using population-based random samples of general adults by landline telephone and online panel. Stress (Perceived Stress Scale 4), anxiety symptoms (General Anxiety Disorders 2), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), subjective happiness (4-point Likert item), and sociodemographic factors were collected.
resultsCompared with 2016 and 2017, the stress level increased by 28.3%, prevalence of anxiety increased by 42.3%, and the depression symptoms and unhappiness have doubled (all P for trends <0.001) during the COVID-19 outbreak. The increases in stress levels were significantly larger among older and less educated respondents (P for interactions <0.001).
conclusionHong Kong had a mental health emergency even with no lockdown and well-managed outbreaks. Older and under-privileged people will suffer most. Public mental health interventions are urgently needed particularly for the older adults and individuals with primary or lower education attainment.
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