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. 2020 Jun:288:112958.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112958. Epub 2020 Apr 4.

Unprecedented disruption of lives and work: Health, distress and life satisfaction of working adults in China one month into the COVID-19 outbreak

Stephen X Zhang  1 , Yifei Wang  2 , Andreas Rauch  3 , Feng Wei  4
Affiliations

Unprecedented disruption of lives and work: Health, distress and life satisfaction of working adults in China one month into the COVID-19 outbreak

Stephen X Zhang et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

We assess the health and wellbeing of normal adults living and working after one month of confinement to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in China. On Feb 20-21, 2020, we surveyed 369 adults in 64 cities in China that varied in their rates of confirmed coronavirus cases on their health conditions, distress and life satisfaction. 27% of the participants worked at the office, 38% resorted to working from home, and 25% stopped working due to the outbreak. Those who stopped working reported worse mental and physical health conditions as well as distress. The severity of COVID-19 in an individual's home city predicts their life satisfaction, and this relationship is contingent upon individuals' existing chronic health issues and their hours of exercise. Our evidence supports the need to pay attention to the health of people who were not infected by the virus, especially for people who stopped working during the outbreak. Our results highlight that physically active people might be more susceptible to wellbeing issues during the lockdown. Policymakers who are considering introducing restrictive measures to contain COVID-19 may benefit from understanding such health and wellbeing implications.

Keywords: 2019-nCoV; Coronavirus; Early evidence; Exercising hours; Life disruptions; Mental health; Physical health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
.The effect of the severity of COVID-19 on life satisfaction depends on the chronic medical issues of the individuals. Note: the dashed lines indicate 95% CIs.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
The effect of the severity of COVID-19 on life satisfaction depends on the exercising hours of the individuals. Note: the dashed lines indicate 95% CIs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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