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Alarming levels of psychiatric symptoms and the role of loneliness during the COVID-19 epidemic: A case study of Hong Kong
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Public health strategies to curb the spread of the coronavirus involve sheltering at home and social distancing are effective in reducing the transmission rate, but the unintended consequences of prolonged social isolation on mental health have not been investigated. We focused on Hong Kong for its very rapid and comprehensive response to the pandemic and strictly enacted social distancing protocols. Thus, Hong Kong is a model case for the population-wide practice of effective social distancing and provides an opportunity to examine the impact of loneliness on mental health during the COVID-19. We conducted an anonymous online survey of 432 residents in Hong Kong to examine psychological distress in the community. The results indicate a dire situation with respect to mental health. An astonishing 65.6% (95% C.I. = [60.6%, 70.4%]) of the respondents reported clinical levels of depression, anxiety, and/or stress. Moreover, 22.5% (95% C.I. = [18.2%, 27.2%]) of the respondents were showing signs of psychosis risk. Subjective feelings of loneliness, but not social network size, were associated with increased psychiatric symptoms. To mitigate the potential epidemic of mental illness in the near future, there is an urgent need to prepare clinicians, caregivers and stakeholders to focus on loneliness.
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“In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest have adversely impacted the mental health of Hong Kong people [13].”
From Effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for Chinese adults with PTSD symptoms: protocol for a randomised controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [13]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tso, I. F., & Park, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tso, Ivy F.
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 293
- Pages
- 113423
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7443338
- OpenAlex
- W3080709507
- Cited by
- 138
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 8
- FWCI
- 11.87
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness, social isolation, social distancing, mental health, psychological distress, depression, anxiety, stress, psychosis risk, psychiatric symptoms, Hong Kong
- MeSH terms
- Physical Distancing, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adult, Anxiety, Mental Disorders, Female, Hong Kong, Humans, Loneliness, Male, Mental Health, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Isolation
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