Factors affecting social phobia among Chinese college students in the context of COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study.

Social phobia (SP) refers to excessive anxiety about social interactions. College students, with their exposure to academic, familial, and job-related pressures, are an ideal population for early screening and intervention of social phobia. Additionally, COVID-19 prevention measures including keeping social distance may further impact social phobia. This study aims to investigate the influencing factors of social phobia among Chinese college students and to tentatively explore the impact of COVID-19 prevention measures on social phobia. Respondents were recruited through Chinese Internet social platforms for an online survey. College students' social phobia scores in pre- and early-COVID-19 periods were measured using Peters' short form of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale (SIAS-6/SPS-6). Demographic information, family information, social relations, self-evaluation, and subjective feelings regarding the impact of COVID-19 preventive measures on social phobia were collected. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors. A total of 1859 valid questionnaires were collected, revealing that the social phobia scores increased from 12.3 ± 11.9 to 13.4 ± 11.9 between pre- and early-COVID-19 periods, with an increase of 1.0 ± 6.4 (p < 0.001). Low GPA rank, mobile phone dependence, distant family relationships, indulgent parents, childhood adversity, and childhood bullying were risk factors for social phobia among Chinese college students. Female gender, being a senior university student or postgraduate, satisfaction with physical appearance, self-reported good mental health and high level of interpersonal trust were protective factors for social phobia. Although most respondents believed that COVID-19 prevention measures (e.g., mask wearing and social distancing rules) reduced their social phobia, these measures were not significantly associated with social phobia levels in the multivariable analyses. In conclusion, Chinese college students' social phobia was widely influenced by diverse factors and warrants increased attention, with early intervention aimed at high-risk individuals being crucial for their mental health. Additional research is necessary to understand the impact of COVID-19 preventive measures on social phobia among college students.

Impact of air pollutants on influenza-like illness outpatient visits under urbanization process in the sub-center of Beijing, China.

Air pollutants can cause serious harm to human health and a variety of respiratory diseases. This study aimed to explore the associations between air pollutants and outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) under urbanization process in the sub-center of Beijing. The data of ILI in sub-center of Beijing from April 1, 2014 to December 31, 2020 were obtained from Beijing Influenza Surveillance Network. A generalized additive Poisson model was applied to examine the associations between the concentrations of air pollutants and daily outpatient visits for ILI when controlling meteorological factors and holidays. A total of 322,559 patients with ILI were included. The results showed that in the early urbanization period, the effects of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, O3, and CO on lag0 day, and PM2.5, PM10, O3, and CO on lag1 day were not significant. In the later urbanization period, AQI and the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 and CO on lag1 day were all significantly associated with an increased risk of outpatient visits for ILI, which increased by 0.34% (95%CI 0.23%, 0.45%), 0.42% (95%CI 0.29%, 0.56%), 0.44% (95%CI 0.33%, 0.55%), 0.36% (95%CI 0.24%, 0.49%), 0.91% (95%CI 0.62%, 1.21%) and 0.38% (95%CI 0.26%, 0.49%). The concentration of O3 on lag1 day was significantly associated with a decreased risk of outpatient visits for ILI, which decreased by 0.21% (95%CI 0.04%, 0.39%). We found that the urbanization process had significantly aggravated the impact of air pollutants on ILI outpatient visits. These findings expand the current knowledge of ILI outpatient visits correlated with air pollutants under urbanization process.

Dynamics of influenza-like illness under urbanization procedure and COVID-19 pandemic in the subcenter of Beijing during 2013-2021.

Influenza-like illness (ILI) varies in intensity year by year, generally keeping a stable pattern except for great changes of its epidemic pattern. Of the most impacting factors, urbanization has been suggested as shaping the intensity of influenza epidemics. Besides, growing evidence indicates the nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 offer great advantages in controlling infectious diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of urbanization and NPIs on the dynamic of ILI in Tongzhou, Beijing, during January 2013 to March 2021. ILI epidemiological surveillance data in Tongzhou district were obtained from Beijing Influenza Surveillance Network and separated into three periods of urbanization and four intervals of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Standardized average incidence rates of ILI in each separate stages were calculated and compared by using Wilson method and time series model of seasonal ARIMA. Influenza seasonal outbreaks showed similar epidemic size and intensity before urbanization during 2013-2016. Increased ILI activity was found during the process of Tongzhou's urbanization during 2017-2019, with the rate difference of 2.48 (95% confidence interva [CI]: 2.44, 2.52) and the rate ratio of 1.75 (95% CI: 1.74, 1.76) of ILI incidence between preurbanization and urbanization periods. ILI activity abruptly decreased from the beginning of 2020 and kept at the bottom level almost in every epidemic interval. The top decrease in ILI activity by NPIs was shown in 5-14 years group in 2020-2021 influenza season, as 92.2% (95% CI: 78.3%, 95.2%). The results indicated that both urbanization and NPIs interrupted the epidemic pattern of ILI. We should pay more attention to public health when facing increasing population density, human contact, population mobility, and migration in the process of urbanization. NPIs and influenza vaccination should be implemented as necessary measures to protect people from common infectious diseases like ILI.