Remote Working and Home Learning: How the Italian Academic Population Dealt with Changes Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced changes in people's lives that affected their mental health. Our study aimed to explore the level of psychological distress in the academic population during the lockdown period and investigate its association with the new working or studying conditions. The study sample included 9364 students and 2159 employees from five Italian universities from the study IO CONTO 2020. We applied linear regression models to investigate the association between home learning or remote working conditions and psychological distress, separately for students and employees. Psychological distress was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). In both students and employees, higher levels of distress were significantly associated with study/work–family conflicts, concerns about their future careers, and inadequacy of equipment;in employees, higher levels of distress were significantly associated with a lack of clarity on work objectives. Our results are in line with previous research on the impact of spaces and equipment in remote working/studying from home. Moreover, the study contributes to deepening the association between well-being and telework–family conflict, which in the literature is still equivocal. Practical implications require academic governance to promote sustainable environments both in remote and hybrid work conditions, by referring to a specific management by objectives approach.

A New Academic Quality at Work Tool (AQ@workT) to Assess the Quality of Life at Work in the Italian Academic Context.

The present study provides evidence for a valid and reliable tool, the Academic Quality at Work Tool (AQ@workT), to investigate the quality of life at work in academics within the Italian university sector. The AQ@workT was developed by the QoL@Work research team, namely a group of expert academics in the field of work and organizational psychology affiliated with the Italian Association of Psychologists. The tool is grounded in the job demands-resources model and its psychometric properties were assessed in three studies comprising a wide sample of lecturers, researchers, and professors: a pilot study (N = 120), a calibration study (N = 1084), and a validation study (N = 1481). Reliability and content, construct, and nomological validity were supported, as well as measurement invariance across work role (researchers, associate professors, and full professors) and gender. Evidence from the present study shows that the AQ@workT represents a useful and reliable tool to assist university management to enhance quality of life, to manage work-related stress, and to mitigate the potential for harm to academics, particularly during a pandemic. Future studies, such as longitudinal tests of the AQ@workT, should test predictive validity among the variables in the tool.

Leptin in the Respiratory Tract: Is There a Role in SARS-CoV-2 Infection?

Leptin is a pleiotropic adipocytokine involved in several physiologic functions, with a known role in innate and adaptive immunity as well as in tissue homeostasis. Long- and short-isoforms of leptin receptors are widely expressed in many peripheral tissues and organs, such as the respiratory tract. Similar to leptin, microbiota affects the immune system and may interfere with lung health through the bidirectional crosstalk called the “gut-lung axis.” Obesity leads to impaired protective immunity and altered susceptibility to pulmonary infections, as those by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although it is known that leptin and microbiota link metabolism and lung health, their role within the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deserves further investigations. This review aimed to summarize the available evidence about: (i) the role of leptin in immune modulation;(ii) the role of gut microbiota within the gut-lung axis in modulating leptin sensitivity;and (iii) the role of leptin in the pathophysiology of COVID-19.

Working during a Pandemic between the Risk of Being Infected and/or the Risks Related to Social Distancing: First Validation of the SAPH@W Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led the worldwide healthcare system to a severe crisis in which personnel paid the major costs. Many studies were promptly dedicated to the physical and psychological consequences of the COVID-19 exposure among healthcare employees, whereas the research on the other working populations has been substantially ignored. To bridge the current lack of knowledge about safe behaviors related to the risk of COVID-19 contagion at work, the aim of the study was to validate a new tool, the SAPH@W (Safety at Work), to assess workers' perceptions of safety. METHODS: A total of 1085 participants, employed in several organizations sited across areas with different levels of risk of contagion, completed an online questionnaire. To test the SAPH@W validity and measurement invariance, the research sample was randomly divided in two. RESULTS: In the first sub-sample, Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated the adequacy of the SAPH@W factorial structure. In the second sub-sample, multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that the SAPH@W was invariant across gender, ecological risk level, and type of occupation (in-person vs. remote working). CONCLUSIONS: The study evidenced the psychometric properties of the SAPH@W, a brief tool to monitor workers' experiences and safety perceptions regarding the COVID-19 risk in any organisational setting.

Psychological distress in the academic population and its association with socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: Results from a large multicenter Italian study.

Measures implemented in many countries to contain the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a change in lifestyle with unpredictable consequences on physical and mental health. We aimed at identifying the variables associated with psychological distress during the lockdown between April and May 2020 in the Italian academic population. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional online survey (IO CONTO 2020) within five Italian universities. Among about 240,000 individuals invited to participate through institutional communications, 18 120 filled the questionnaire. Psychological distress was measured by the self-administered Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The covariates collected included demographic and lifestyle characteristics, trust in government, doctors and scientists. Associations of covariates with influenza-like symptoms or positive COVID-19 test and with psychological distress were assessed by multiple regression models at the local level; a meta-analysis of the results was then performed. Severe levels of anxiety or depression were reported by 20% of the sample and were associated with being a student or having a lower income, irrespective of their health condition and worries about contracting the virus. The probability of being severely anxious or depressed also depended on physical activity: compared to those never exercising, the highest OR being for those who stopped during lockdown (1.53; 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.84) and the lowest for those who continued (0.78; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.95). Up to 21% of severe cases of anxiety or depression might have been avoided if during lockdown participants had continued to exercise as before. Socioeconomic insecurity contributes to increase mental problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to the measures to contain it. Maintaining or introducing an adequate level of physical activity is likely to mitigate such detrimental effects. Promoting safe practice of physical activity should remain a public health priority to reduce health risks during the pandemic.