Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Among Chinese People During the Omicron Outbreak and Its Impact on Sleep Quality and Alcohol Dependency

Objective: The present study aims to assess the mental health of Chinese people during the Omicron variant outbreak in March 2022. This study also explores how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure history, vaccination status, sleep quality, and alcohol dependency symptoms influence mental health outcomes.

Methods: The data were collected from 1049 Chinese people through Tencent using a structured questionnaire utilizing convenience sampling technique. The online cross-sectional study included the Chinese version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess depression, anxiety, stress, alcohol dependency, fear of COVID-19, and sleep quality, respectively. Statistical analyses included independent sample t-tests and χ2 tests to assess the differences in study variables across demographic characteristics, and multiple linear regressions to assess the effect of the experience of COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and mental health variables on sleep quality and alcohol dependency.

Results: Results showed that 11.5% to 32.4% of the participants had a poor mental health symptoms. Males had significantly higher depressive symptoms (χ2=12.283, df=4, P=.015) and alcohol dependency symptoms (χ2=66.604, df=3, P < .001), and females had significantly lower mental well-being (χ2=12.742, df=2, P=.002). Additionally, findings showed that stress (β=.250, P < .001), mental well-being (β=−.166, P < .001), and fear of COVID-19 (β=.061, P=.029) predicted poorer sleep quality, and anxiety (β=.115, P=.035) and mental well-being (β=−.097, P=.002) predicted alcohol dependency symptoms.

Conclusion: Since the pandemic-induced mental health challenges persist for a prolonged period, the findings of these relationships offer guidance for mental health professionals to formulate therapeutic interventions to help people cope with psychological crises.

Cite this article as: Ahmed MZ, Ahmed O, Hanbin S, Xie P, Jobe MC, Li W. Depression, anxiety, and stress among chinese people during the omicron outbreak and its impact on sleep quality and alcohol dependency. Alpha Psychiatry. 2024;25(3):329-336.