Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health - what do we know so far?

Abstract

IntroductionThe devastating effects of the current pandemic are profoundly affecting peoples’s physical and psychological health. Numerous studies on the effects of previous infectious outbreaks have been published. Similarly, an increasingly growing body of research on COVID-19 has been developed and released, reporting a substancial psychological impact of both the outbreak and the response, suggesting that the population may express high levels of psychological symptoms.ObjectivesThis presentation aims to synthesize existent literature that reports on the effects of COVID-19 on psychological outcomes of the general population, groups with higher vulnerability and its associated risk factors.MethodsBibliographic research was made through scientific databases such as PubMed and EMBASE. No time limit was used. Pertinent articles were carefully reviewed for additional relevant citations.ResultsGenerally, there is a higher prevalence of symptoms of adverse psychiatric outcomes among the public when compared to the prevalence before the pandemic. Psychological reactions to pandemics include maladaptive behaviours, emotional distress and symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and avoidance behaviors. The groups known to be at higher risk for mental health problems during the pandemic are: women, healthcare workers, people under 40 years old and with chronic diseases. Other risk factors are: frequent exposure to social media/news relating to COVID-19, poor economic status, lower education level, and unemployment.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented threat to mental health. In addition to flattening the curve of viral transmission, special attention needs to be paid to the challenges it poses to the mental health of the population at a global scale.

Temporal dynamics of socioeconomic inequalities in depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

“…Min et al ( 70 ) suggested that differential access to information may have contributed to the fact that people with higher SES were increasingly affected by the pandemic. Previous studies reported that people were exposed to anxiety-provoking information via social media, and more frequent exposure to such information may have led to higher vulnerability to mental-health deterioration when the future was unpredictable ( 91 ). In this regard, young, middle-aged, highly educated and high-income individuals were more likely to be exposed to negative information from the internet and social media than the general population ( 70 ).…”

“…Some studies identified demographic subgroups at higher risk for mental-health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerning generational inequality, young adults were frequently mentioned as disproportionally vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic ( 29 , 30 , 50 , 54 , 55 , 62 , 66 , 70 , 71 , 75 , 77 , 78 , 87 , 91 , 93 ). This could be related to SES, as young people often have yet to reach a higher level of education, are still studying or in training, and consequently have a lower income ( 94 ).…”

The relationship between dimensions of empathy and symptoms of depression among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A network analysis

“…To shed light on these gaps, we sought to construct an integrated network combining dimensions of empathy and symptoms of depression. There were three aims in the current research: (1) to investigate the relationship between different dimensions of empathy and symptoms of depression; (2) to identify positive and negative influential nodes that bridge empathy and depression by using bridge centrality indexes; and (3) to explore whether there are sex differences in the above network characteristics.…”

“…These transitions have exacerbated mental health concerns among the general population, particularly symptoms of depression. Symptoms of depression are characterized by anhedonia, sad mood, trouble with sleeping, fatigue, eating problems, guilt, trouble with concentrating, psychomotor agitation or retardation , and suicidal thoughts ( 1 ). These symptoms have been shown to affect long-term cognitive performance and quality of life ( 2 ).…”