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Objective Explore the mental health status and its influencing factors of local community residents under the post-epidemic era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. Methods The basic information scale, self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale were used to carry out an online questionnaire survey among community residents in Jiangsu Province, China, and the influencing factors of depression and anxiety were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. Results A total of 993 residents completed the mental health survey. It was found that the incidence of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 37.06% and 22.86%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that women [odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 26.239 (14.743–46.698)], college degree and above [OR (95% CI) = 1.843 (1.085–3.130)] and ordinary residents [OR (95% CI) = 2.222 (1.441–3.425)] were risk factors for depressive symptoms, urban residents had lower risk [OR (95% CI) = 0.655 (0.394–0.829)]. Women [OR (95% CI) = 33.595 (15.812–71.381)] and ordinary residents [OR (95% CI) = 3.017 (1.602–5.680)] were risk factors for anxiety symptoms while the incidence was reduced in professional and technical personnel [OR (95% CI) = 0.271 (0.123–0.597)], workers [OR (95% CI) = 0.383 (0.168–0.876)], soldiers or policemen [OR (95% CI) = 0.200 (0.042–0.961)], married residents [OR (95% CI) = 0.463 (0.230–0.931)] and urban residents [OR (95% CI) = 0.531 (0.251–0.824)]. Conclusion The incidence of symptoms of depression and anxiety among residents was relatively high under the post-epidemic era of COVID-19, which could be affected by various factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors express gratitude for the comments received on their study about depression among Chinese residents during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. They acknowledge that certain potential risk factors, such as younger age, lower education, tobacco use, and comorbidities, were not included in their study but have been identified in other research. The authors explain that their study focused on specific demographic and lifestyle variables chosen based on their appearance in literature and feasibility of measurement. They recognize the complexity of the pandemic and its impact on mental health, stating that capturing all potential factors in a single study is challenging. The authors emphasize that their aim was to provide valuable insights to guide public health interventions, rather than an exhaustive list of risk factors. [Extracted from the article]