Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34507138›Full record

ArticlePublic health2021

Mental distress and its associations with behavioral outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national survey of Chinese adults.

L Ma, L W Gao, J T-F Lau, A Rahman, B T Johnson, A F Yan, Z M Shi, Y X Ding, P Nie, J G Zheng and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

L MaGlobal Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
L W GaoGlobal Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
J T-F LauJockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
A RahmanDepartment of Primary Care and Mental Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
B T JohnsonDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA.
A F YanDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Center of Advancing Population Science, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Z M ShiHuman Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Y X DingGlobal Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
P NieSchool of Economics and Finance, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Global Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
J G ZhengGlobal Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Y F WangGlobal Health Institute, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China; Fisher Institute of Health and Well-Being, Department of Nutrition and Health Science, College of Health, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA.
W D WangDepartment of Sociology, School of Sociology and Population Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wwd@ruc.edu.cn.
Q L XueDepartment of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, School of Medicine and the Center on Aging and Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: qxue1@jhu.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study aimed to evaluate associations between mental distress and COVID-19-related changes in behavioral outcomes and potential modifiers (age, gender, educational attainment) of such associations. STUDY

designThis was a cross-sectional study.

methodsAn online survey using anonymous network sampling was conducted in China from April to May 2020 using a 74-item questionnaire. A national sample of 10,545 adults in 31 provinces provided data on sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19-related mental distress, and changes in behavioral outcomes. Structural equation models were used for data analyses.

resultsAfter adjusting for covariates, greater mental distress was associated with increased smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-1.68 and OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.31-1.82 per one standard deviation [SD] increase in mental distress) and alcohol consumption (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.45-1.92 and OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.24-1.75 per one SD increase in mental distress) among current smokers and drinkers and with both increased and decreased physical activity (ORs ranged from 1.32 to 1.56). Underweight adults were more likely to lose body weight (≥1 kg; OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.30-2.04), whereas overweight adults were more likely to gain weight (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.46-1.78) by the same amount. Association between mental distress and change in physical activity was stronger in adults aged ≥40 years (ORs ranged from 1.43 to 2.05) and those with high education (ORs ranged from 1.43 to 1.77). Mental distress was associated with increased smoking in males (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.37-1.87) but not females (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.82-1.51).

conclusionsGreater mental distress was associated with some positive and negative changes in behavioral outcomes during the pandemic. These findings inform the design of tailored public health interventions aimed to mitigate long-term negative consequences of mental distress on outcomes.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsAdultChinaCross-Sectional StudiesHumansMaleSARS-CoV-2AdultsChange in behavioral outcomesChinaCOVID-19Mental distressSociodemographic and disease factors

Identifiers

PMID34507138
PMCPMC8424018

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.