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PLoS One
. 2021 Feb 2;16(2):e0245945.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245945. eCollection 2021.
Physical and mental health outcomes including behavior and attitudes in people having social contacts with COVID-19 patients
Zijun Xu 1 , Dexing Zhang 1 , Dong Xu 2 , Xue Li 3 4 , Yao Jie Xie 5 , Wen Sun 1 , Eric Kam-Pui Lee 1 , Benjamin Hon-Kei Yip 1 , Phoenix Kit-Han Mo 1 , Shuiyuan Xiao 6 , Samuel Yeung-Shan Wong 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 33529204
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245945
Abstract
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection has spread worldwide since late 2019. People who have social contacts with COVID-19 patients might be at higher risk of physical or mental health problems. This study investigated whether people who had social contacts with COVID-19 patients would have poorer physical or mental outcomes, and different attitudes and behaviors. Chinese adults were recruited to fill in an online survey using snowball sampling during 21st-26nd February 2020. Physical symptoms, psychological outcomes, quality of life, COVID-19 related attitudes, and behaviors were measured. The differences in the outcomes between participants who had COVID-19 social contacts and those who had not were analyzed. The survey included 1,447 non-infected eligible participants. Among those, 173 (12.0%) reported at least one confirmed/suspected case in their social contacts. In the multiple regression adjusted for demographic data, the presence of confirmed/suspected infection cases in one's social contacts was significantly associated with poorer physical and mental outcomes, lower health-related quality of life, and different COVID-19 related attitudes and behaviors (p<0.05). In conclusion, people who had social contacts with COVID-19 patients were at risk of adverse health outcomes. Future studies are needed to understand the long-term impacts. Similarly, strategies to improve health outcomes for these people are needed.