Mar 16 2023
Published by
yl10038
A year ago, a rise in COVID-19 cases prompted the city of Shanghai to enter a city-wide lockdown, affecting 24 million residents. The lockdown, which lasted more than 60 days for most residents, had a deep economic impact, disrupting food distribution, and leading to anxiety among many of those affected. Such an unprecedented public health situation also offered researchers a unique opportunity to assess the broad mental health impact of a large-scale public health emergency. NYU Shanghai Professor of Global Public Health Brian Hall, director of the Center for Global Health Equity led a study estimating the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Shanghai residents during the lockdown. The study, recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, a leading journal, sheds light on the mental health effects of the lockdown and the key correlates associated with the mental health burden among residents (e.g., food insecurity).
Assessing and intervening to improve population mental health during adverse situations is a key research area of the Center for Global Health Equity. To conduct the study, Hall quickly mobilized a team, utilizing his experience in immediate mental health work in humanitarian contexts. The team included researchers from NYU Shanghai, NYU New York, Sun Yat-sen University, and the University of North Carolina, each who provided valuable insights into study measurements and design. Shanghai-based team members designed questions that reflected the reality and experiences of people on the ground.
The study assessed the mental health of people in Shanghai during a public health emergency and identified priorities for a public health response. Over 3,000 people were surveyed across Shanghai’s16 districts, with 26.1% reporting depression, 20.1% reporting anxiety, and 3.8% reporting suicidal ideation. The team found that these mental health outcomes were more prevelant among younger adults, single people, people earning lower incomes, migrants, and people with poor health, or who had previously experienced psychiatric diagnoses or suicide attempts. Lockdown-related stressors such as job and income loss, food insecurity, and fear were associated with increased odds of mental health outcomes.
Hall and his team found that the lockdown had a measurable impact on those who experienced it. “The study highlights the burden of mental disorders on the population and identifies young adults and migrants within the larger Shanghai community as the most affected,” said Hall. “We aim to give voice to Shanghai residents through this paper, and help strengthen public health and mental health responses to emergencies like the pandemic."