Recent research focused on the mental health of Hongkongers has found nearly a third of adults in the semi-autonomous city have reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and around 1 in 10 displayed signs related to depression during the ongoing anti-government demonstrations.
A jarring mental health study published in the The Lancet medical journal on Friday highlighted that adult citizens in Hong Kong are currently entangled in a “major mental health burden,” with numbers comparable to those in conflict zones.
“One in five adults now reports probable depression or suspected PTSD, which is comparable to those experiencing armed conflicts, large-scale disasters, or terrorist attacks,” the study claimed.
The research, conducted by the University of Hong Kong, based its findings on data retrieved from nearly 18,000 residents of the semi-autonomous city in surveys administered between 2009 and 2019.
“Hong Kong is under-resourced to deal with this excess mental health burden,” said Professor Gabriel Leung, dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong and co-author of the study, as reported by the BBC.
According to the study's authors, 1 in 3 adults reported signs of PTSD during period of ongoing anti-government protests – a six-fold increase from four years prior. Similarly, while approximately 2% of respondents reported symptoms of depression before the 2014 “Umbrella Revolution” – or “Occupy Hong Kong” – protests, that number has since…
