Mental Health Impacts of Working from Home after COVID-19: Does Gender Matter?

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to various social distancing practices such as mandatory working from home, which aim to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The purpose of this study was to compare the mental health impacts between men and women being forced to work from home following a COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This study analyzed data collected from two rounds of surveys conducted in four cities in China: Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha, and Wuhan. A total of 940 individual responses were analyzed in this study. Multiple linear regression and ordinal logistic models were used to analyze the relationship between being forced to work from home, demographic variables, work-related variables, COVID-19 variables, family ties variables, and mental health variables. Results: The analysis showed that being forced to work from home was associated with worse mental health in men, but not among women. Married men reported better mental health compared with unmarried men, while the association between marital status and mental health was the opposite in women. Mental health was worse among those in higher job positions for both men and women. In addition, being forced to work from home was also associated with worse mental health among young, high-income men, and highly educated women. Conclusions: The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching and amy persist for years. Furthermore, the number of workers who choose to work from home is expected to increase. The findings of this study can inform policy-making that will improve the mental health of employees working from home, with particular attention to men forced to work from home.

Serum antibody levels in patients who recovered from COVID-19 and vaccinated in healthy people

Objective To analyze the differences in serum antibody levels between COVID-19 recovered patients and healthy people who were after the COVID-19 vaccination. Methods 12 patients with COVID-19 who were cured and discharged from hospitals in Sichuan Province and followed up in our hospital from January 2020 to October 2020 were collected as the rehabilitation group. 43 healthy persons who had been vaccinated with 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccines for 6 months were used as immunization group. 51 healthy persons who inoculated with the booster injection (the third injection) for 28-35 days were used as the booster group. The immune indicators, SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody and neutralizing antibody were detected quantitatively in the three groups. Results The positive rate of antibody IgG in both the rehabilitation group and the immunization group was 100%. The average specific IgG antibody of the rehabilitation group was 43.44 AU/mL, which was significantly higher than that of the immunization group, which was 25.02 AU/mL (P<0.05);The positive rates of neutralizing antibodies in the rehabilitation group, immunization group, and booster group were 83.33%, 32.56%, and 100.00% respectively, and the average neutralizing antibody level were 29.03, 4.63, and 32.03 AU / mL, respectively. The average neutralizing antibody level in the rehabilitation group after 8-14 months of discharge was 6.5 times higher than that in the immunization group. The average neutralizing antibody level in the booster group was 6.9 times that of the immunization group. In the booster group, the mean neutralizing antibody of males was 61.68 AU/mL, which was significantly higher than that of females, which was 26.13 AU/mL (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in BMI group and age group among the groups (both P>0.05). In terms of immune function, the mean CD4+T lymphocyte count in the rehabilitation group was 415.00 cells/μL, which was significantly lower than the mean CD4+T lymphocyte count in the immunization group, 590.00 cells/μL (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in immunoglobulin A, G, M, complement 3 and complement 4 between the rehabilitation group and the immunization group (P>0.05). Conclusions COVID-19 patients can produce IgG antibodies and neutralizing antibodies during the development of the disease, and higher than those who received 2 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccine booster can induce higher antibody level, and the level of neutralizing antibody in male is higher than that in female. © 2022 China Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved.

Time phased scheduling and Disease grading management to achieve efficient rescue of batches of COVID-19 infected patients in shelter hospital

Objective To introduce how to quickly set up a doctor team to achieve efficient treatment of batchs COVID-19 patients in Changchun GongTi shelter hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze the basic situation of the doctors who supported the Changchun Gongti shelter hospital. The workload is the total number of patients from April 3 to 28, 2022. At the beginning of the task, the first week and the third week of the task, the five point scoring method was used to reflect the doctor's physical and mental state, stress state and rescue achievement. The time phased scheduling and disease grading management were fully implemented after 10 days of operation in the shelter. The doctors' ward round efficiency and self scoring changes before and after the implementation of the plan were compared, and the rescue results were summarized. Results Total of 56 doctors (the Sichuan medical assistance team to Changchun), who undertook the work of Changchun Gongti shelter Hospital, came from 12 professional departments of 14 hospitals. By internal and external linkage-time phased scheduling and information-based patient zoning and grading management, the admission time of batch patients was shortened from (14.64±10.09) min to (6.80±5.10) min per person(P<0.05), the number of patients that each doctor can view per hour ranges from (28.50±12.26) to (68.43±19.95) (P<0.01). A total of 1 293 patients were treated. There were no deaths, no accidents and no mild illness to severe illness in shelter hospital. 35 doctors completed a continuous survey. Before and after the implementation of those measures, the average physical state scores and the psychological state scores of doctors improved (P=0.03), the self-score of stress feeling decreased (P<0.01), and the self-score of professional achievement increased (P<0.01). Conclusions To adapt to the characteristics of emergency treatment for batch COVID-19 patients, the internal and external linkage-time phased scheduling and information-based patient zoning and grading management could help the temporarily convened doctors deal with a large number of patients efficiently, reduce work stress and exposure risk in shelter hospital. © 2022 Chinese Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Does COVID-19 Affect Household Financial Behaviors? Fresh Evidence From China

Based on online survey data from 2020, the present study employed a logit model to examine the effects of COVID-19 on household financial behaviors in China. Additionally, the KHB (Kohler, Karlson, Holm) model was employed to explore the pathway through which COVID-19 affects household financial behaviors. These analyses revealed that household saving and borrowing behaviors were more sensitive to COVID-19 than insurance and investment behaviors. Moreover, the effects of COVID-19 on household saving and investment behaviors were found to be mediated by attitudes toward COVID-19. These findings suggest that more effective measures to reduce households' panic attitude to public health emergencies can diminish fluctuations in household financial behaviors in the short term.

Let the Big Data Speak: Collaborative Model of Topic Extract and Sentiment Analysis COVID-19 Based on Weibo Data

Micro-blog is an important medium of emergency communication. The topic and emotion analysis of micro-blog is of great significance in identifying and predicting potential problems and risks. In this paper, a collaborative analysis model of emotion and topic mining is constructed to analyze the users’ sentiment and the topics they care about, Firstly, we use SO-PMI to construct domain sentiment lexicon and extract topics with LDA. Then we use the collaborative model to analyze sentiment and topic. The results showed that the model we proposed can present the features of sentiment and topic of user concerns. And through text clustering and sentiment analysis, it is found that the attitude of users towards the COVID-19 has gone through three stages, namely, a period of fluctuating tension and anxiety, a period of slowly rising solidarity and a period of stable self-confidence with little fluctuation, on the whole, positive is greater than negative, positive than negative state. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Evaluating the Impact of Vaccination on COVID-19 Pandemic Used a Hierarchical Weighted Contact Network Model

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccines have been placed significant expectation to end the COVID-19 pandemic sooner. However, issues related to vaccines still need to be resolved urgently, including the vaccination number and range. In this paper, we proposed an epidemic spread model based on the hierarchical weighted network. This model fully considers the heterogeneity of the community social contact network and the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in China, which enables to evaluate the potential impact of vaccine efficacy, vaccination schemes, and mixed interventions on the epidemic. The results show that a mass vaccination can effectively control the epidemic but cannot completely eliminate it. In the case of limited resources, giving vaccination priority to the individuals with high contact intensity in the community is necessary. Joint implementation with non-pharmacological interventions strengthening the control of virus transmission. The results provide insights for decision-makers with effective vaccination plans and prevention and control programs. © 2021 IEEE.

Pandemic response and international law: The case of COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic is currently raging throughout the world. The ensuing crisis has acquired a multidimensional nature, affecting all levels of society, including international health legal order. For international health law, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the international institution with a core mandate in issues of global health. Moreover, the International Health Regulations (IHR) is the main legally binding instrument laying down rules for the cross-border spread of contagious diseases. Against this backdrop, this paper evaluates the issues and disputes under the current regimes of international health law. The paper then offers some thoughts by way of answers to the research questions.

[Clinical characteristics and outcome of 64 patients with severe COVID-19].

Objective: To investigate the causes of death in patients with severe COVID-19. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 64 patients with severe COVID-19 admitted to Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital from January 12, 2020 to February 28, 2020. There were 36 males and 28 females, aging from 44 to 85 years[median 68 (62, 72)]. Fifty-two patients (81%) had underlying comorbidities. The patients were divided into the death group (n=40) and the survival group (n=24) according to the treatment outcomes. In the death group, 24 were male, and 16 were female, aging from 49 to 85 years [median 69 (62, 72)], with 31 cases (78%) complicated with underlying diseases. In the survival group, there were 12 males and 12 females, aging from 44 to 82 years[median 66 (61,73)], with 21 cases (88%) with comorbidities. Clinical data of the two groups were collected and compared, including general information, laboratory examinations, imaging features and treatments. For normally distributed data, independent group t test was used; otherwise, Mann Whitney test was used to compare the variables. χ(2) test and Fisher exact test was used when analyzing categorical variables. Results: The median of creatine kinase isozyme (CK-MB) in the death group was 19.0 (17.0,23.0) U/L, which was higher than that in the survival group 16.5 (13.5,19.6) U/L. The median level of cTnI in the death group was 0.03 (0.03, 0.07) µg/L, which was significantly higher than that in the survival group (0.02, 0.03) µg/L, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.007). The concentration of myoglobin in the death group was 79.5 (28.7, 189.0) µg/L, which was higher than 33.1 (25.7, 54.5) µg/L in the survival group. The level of D-dimer in the death group was 2.0 (0.6, 5.2) mg/L, which was higher than 0.7 (0.4, 2.0) mg/L in the survival group. The LDH level of the death group was 465.0 (337.5,606.5) U/L, which was higher than that of the survibal group, 341.0 (284.0,430.0) U/L, the difference being statistically significant (P=0.006). The concentration of alanine aminotransferase in the death group was 40.0 (30.0, 48.0) U/L, which was higher than 32.5 (24.0, 40.8) U/L in the survival group, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.047).Abnormal ECG was found in 16 cases (62%) in the death group, which was significantly higher than that in the survival group (29%), the difference being statistically significant (P=0.024) .The main causes of death were severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, n=20), acute heart failure(n=9), atrial fibrillation(n=3) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS, n=3). Conclusions: ARDS caused by severe pneumonia and acute heart failure and atrial fibrillation caused by acute viral myocarditis were the main causes of death in severe COVID-19 patients. Early prevention of myocardial injury and treatment of acute viral myocarditis complicated with disease progression may provide insights into treatment and reduction of mortality in patients with severe COVID-19.

The hospital response to covid-19 in China

The origin of the COVID-19 pandemic was in Wuhan, China. The sudden rise in cases was met with strict isolation and treatment measures. The uniqueness of the Chinese health care system and hospital response may have been instrumental in the early plateauing of cases and deaths.

[Mental health survey of medical staff in a tertiary infectious disease hospital for COVID-19].

Objective: To investigate the mental health of clinical first-line medical staff in COVID-19 epidemic and provide theoretical basis for psychological intervention. Methods: The mental health status of the first-line medical staff was investigated by Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Self- rating Scale (PTSD-SS). From February 7 to 14, 2020, 246 medical staff participated in the treatment of COVID-19 were investigated using cluster sampling, and received 230 responses, with a recovery rate of 93.5%. Results: The incidence of anxiety in medical staff was 23.04% (53/230) , and the score of SAS was(42.91±10.89). Among them, the incidence of severe anxiety, moderate anxiety and mild anxiety were 2.17%(5/230) , 4.78%(11/230) and 16.09%(37/230) , respectively. The incidence of anxiety in female medical staff was higher than that in male [25.67%(48/187) vs 11.63%(5/43) , Z=-2.008, P=0.045], the score of SAS in female medical staff was higher than that in male [(43.78±11.12) vs (39.14±9.01) , t=-2.548, P=0.012]. The incidence of anxiety in nurses was higher than that in doctors[26.88% (43/160) vs 14.29% (10/70) , Z=-2.066, P=0.039], and the score of SAS in nurses was higher than that in doctors [ (44.84±10.42) vs (38.50±10.72) , t=-4.207, P<0.001]. The incidence of stress disorder in medical staff was 27.39% (63/230) , and the score of PTSD-SS was (42.92±17.88) . The score of PTSD-SS in female medical staff was higher than that in male[ (44.30±18.42) vs (36.91±13.95) , t=-2.472, P=0.014]. Conclusion: In COVID-19 epidemic , the incidence of anxiety and stress disorder is high among medical staff. Medical institutions should strengthen the training of psychological skills of medical staff. Special attention should be paid to the mental health of female nurses.

[A pathological report of three COVID-19 cases by minimal invasive autopsies].

Objective: To investigate the pathological characteristics and the clinical significance of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)-infected pneumonia (termed by WHO as coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19). Methods: Minimally invasive autopsies from lung, heart, kidney, spleen, bone marrow, liver, pancreas, stomach, intestine, thyroid and skin were performed on three patients died of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Chongqing, China. Hematoxylin and eosin staining (HE), transmission electron microcopy, and histochemical staining were performed to investigate the pathological changes of indicated organs or tissues. Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to evaluate the infiltration of immune cells as well as the expression of 2019-nCoV proteins. Real time PCR was carried out to detect the RNA of 2019-nCoV. Results: Various damages were observed in the alveolar structure, with minor serous exudation and fibrin exudation. Hyaline membrane formation was observed in some alveoli. The infiltrated immune cells in alveoli were majorly macrophages and monocytes. Moderate multinucleated giant cells, minimal lymphocytes, eosinophils and neutrophils were also observed. Most of infiltrated lymphocytes were CD4-positive T cells. Significant proliferation of type Ⅱ alveolar epithelia and focal desquamation of alveolar epithelia were also indicated. The blood vessels of alveolar septum were congested, edematous and widened, with modest infiltration of monocytes and lymphocytes. Hyaline thrombi were found in a minority of microvessels. Focal hemorrhage in lung tissue, organization of exudates in some alveolar cavities, and pulmonary interstitial fibrosis were observed. Part of the bronchial epithelia were exfoliated. Coronavirus particles in bronchial mucosal epithelia and type Ⅱ alveolar epithelia were observed under electron microscope. Immunohistochemical staining showed that part of the alveolar epithelia and macrophages were positive for 2019-nCoV antigen. Real time PCR analyses identified positive signals for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid. Decreased numbers of lymphocyte, cell degeneration and necrosis were observed in spleen. Furthermore, degeneration and necrosis of parenchymal cells, formation of hyaline thrombus in small vessels, and pathological changes of chronic diseases were observed in other organs and tissues, while no evidence of coronavirus infection was observed in these organs. Conclusions: The lungs from novel coronavirus pneumonia patients manifest significant pathological lesions, including the alveolar exudative inflammation and interstitial inflammation, alveolar epithelium proliferation and hyaline membrane formation. While the 2019-nCoV is mainly distributed in lung, the infection also involves in the damages of heart, vessels, liver, kidney and other organs. Further studies are warranted to investigate the mechanism underlying pathological changes of this disease.