Female health care workers at increased risk for mental health problems during pandemic

Female health care workers had higher rates of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic than male health care workers, according to study results published in Journal of Psychiatric Research.

“To our knowledge, no studies have focused on the gender differences in [mental health problems] among [health care workers] during the outbreak of infectious diseases such as SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome,” Shuai Liu, of the department of psychiatry at Southern Medical University’s Nanfang Hospital in China, and colleagues wrote. “Only few studies reported female predominance in psychological morbidity during the SARS epidemic, and a recent study in Italy found that female [health care workers] perceived lower levels of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the differences in biological, psychological and sociological characteristics that may contribute to different vulnerability to [mental health problems] in men and women, it is necessary to understand the potential gender differences in these problems among [health care workers] during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to develop targeted strategies to better deal with these problems.”

The researchers conducted the current online nationwide survey between Jan. 29, 2020, and Feb. 3, 2020, to assess the prevalence and gender differences of multiple mental health problems among 1,563 health care workers, of whom 1,293 (82.7%) were women, in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. They obtained general data using questions on socio-demographics, factors related to work and living situations. They used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Insomnia Severity Index to evaluate depressive, anxiety, stress and insomnia symptoms, respectively.

Results showed rates of 50.7%, 44.7%, 52.5% and 36.1% for depressive, anxiety, stress and insomnia symptoms, respectively, among participants. Women had significantly higher rates on all four scales, as well as higher prevalence of all mental health problems assessed (OR = 1.55-1.97). Women’s increased risk for all mental health problems remained higher than men’s after adjusting for potential confounders (adjusted OR = 1.36-1.96).

“These findings highlight the need for timely, special care and support for [health care workers] during the outbreak, especially for females,” Liu and colleagues wrote.