BACKGROUND: At the end of 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and spread rapidly to the whole country within 1 month. This new epidemic caused a great mental reaction among the public. This study aimed to assess and compare the prevalence and associated factors of anxiety and depression among the public affected by quarantine and those unaffected during the COVID-19 outbreak in southwestern China in early Feb. 2020.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected using the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and the self-rating depression scale (SDS) administered to 1593 respondents aged 18 years and above. The respondents were grouped as ‘affected group’ and ‘unaffected group’ on the basis of whether they or their families/colleagues/classmates/neighbors had been quarantined.

RESULTS: Among 1593 participants, the prevalence of anxiety and depression was approximately 8.3% and 14.6%, respectively, and the prevalence in the affected group (12.9%, 22.4%) was significantly higher than that in the unaffected group (6.7%, 11.9%). Lower average household income, lower education level, having a higher self-evaluated level of knowledge, being more worried about being infected, having no psychological support, greater property damage, and lower self-perceived health condition were significant associated with higher scores on the SAS and SDS. People living in Chongqing had higher SAS and SDS scores than those living in Yunnan Province.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of anxiety and depression of the affected group are higher than in the unaffected group during the COVID-19 outbreak in southwestern China in early Feb. 2020. The government should focus more on providing economic and medical support to improve the general population’s mental state.

Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19, Depression, Public Health, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics, Pneumonia, Viral, Quarantine, SARS-CoV-2, Surveys and Questionnaires