The prevalence of among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic was 54.95%.
Sleep disturbances were reported by 48.18% of the surveyed college students.
A negative correlation exists between and depressive symptoms, with absolute evening chronotypes associated with higher levels of depression.
was identified as a full mediator in the relationship between chronotypes and depressive symptoms.
Evening chronotype students with poorer sleep quality reported higher depressive symptoms.
Improving sleep quality and adjusting bedtime may help reduce depressive symptoms in this population.
Simplified
PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the mental health of the population. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of and sleep disturbances among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate the correlations between , , and depressive symptoms.
PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: In the current study, 2526 college students responded anonymously to an online questionnaire survey from 26 May 2020 to 20 July 2020. The participants' chronotypes, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Morning and Evening Questionnaire-5 (MEQ-5), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Sociodemographic information of the participants was also acquired. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 19.0 software, with the mediating effect assessed by Hayes' PROCESS Macro.
RESULTS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances among Chinese college students surveyed was 54.95% and 48.18%, respectively. From absolute evening chronotype to absolute morning chronotype, the surveyed college students' chronotypes were negatively correlated with their depressive symptoms. Moreover, the mediation analysis showed that the correlation between chronotypes and depressive symptoms was fully mediated by sleep quality. Eveningness college students with poorer sleep quality were more likely to report higher levels of depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed circadian preference (ie, eveningness) may be linked to worse depressive symptoms among Chinese college students, and call for more attention to the sleep quality of Chinese college students as sleep quality fully mediated the correlation between chronotypes and depressive symptoms among them. Reasonable adjustment in bedtime/circadian preference and improvement in sleep quality may help to reduce the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students.
Key numbers
54.95%
Prevalence of
Percentage of surveyed students reporting .
48.18%
Prevalence of Sleep Disturbances
Percentage of surveyed students experiencing sleep disturbances.
−0.5159
Effect on Depression
Coefficient indicating the effect of on .
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