| Objective To investigate the anxiety status and influence factors in public before and after outbreak of COVID-19, and provide scientific instruction for establishing psychological intervention for similar public health events. Methods This is a retrospective study. A predesigned questionnaire was performed to collect the general information and self-assessment anxiety scale (SAS) before and after outbreak of COVID-19 for the public through Internet. Results A total of 1222 (93.8%) available questionnaires were collected. The people with anxiety increased from 90 (7.4%) to 172 (14.08%, P<0.001) after the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, the SAS scores increased from (36.32 ± 8.46) to (40.65 ± 10.43) points (the difference was 4.33 ± 6.76, P<0.001). The independent risk factors of anxiety aggravation included serious impact of life (P<0.001), elderly (P<0.001), female (P<0.001), lower education (P=0.005), medical staff (P=0.030) and lack of medical education (P=0.039). The independent risk factors of anxiety aggravation in medical staff included sense of isolation (P<0.001), female (P=0.001), elderly (P=0.008), serious impact of work (P=0.010). Conclusion After the outbreak of COVID-19, the anxiety in public was generally aggravated, which was severer in certain populations. Personalized psychological intervention and health education of medical knowledge should be stressed. |