Illness anxiety: The missing point of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was confirmed as global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) by 11 March 2020. Materials and Methods: Data was collected from all the emergency medicine staff working in two referral main centers for COVID-19 affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The participants were enrolled in the study six months after the first COVID-19 hospitalization and the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CDAS) was used. Results: According to our results, while 46 (20.7%) participants had a moderate anxiety score, 26 (11.7%) had a severe anxiety score. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that emergency department staff are at risk of developing an Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD). During the COVID-19 pandemic, more research should be done on these groups.