ABSTRACT
The tension caused by the SARS-COVID pandemia has led to severe emotional stress in children, especially in pre-adolescent age. The study investigates whether there are emotional-behavioral repercussions due to the pandemia in the sample of 11-year-old children analyzed and it assesses how these have affected their mental health. Our study showed that the pupils, both male and female, had quite significant levels of anxiety on the internalizing scale, while on the externalizing scale it was the male sample who obtained a higher score. These elements were globally perceived by the teachers in the class group, but hardly identified in the individual pupils. It would therefore be useful to start psychological activities and paths capable of enhancing the experience of each subject involved in the world of education and schools, in particular for teachers and their pupils. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) La tensione causata dalla pandemia da SARS-COVID ha portato nei bambini, soprattutto in eta preadolescenziale, un forte stress emotivo. Lo studio indaga se nel campione di bambini di 11 anni analizzato sono presenti ripercussioni emotivo-comportamentali dovute alla pandemia e valuta come queste abbiano inciso sulla loro salute mentale. Dal nostro studio e emerso che gli alunni, sia maschi che femmine, presentavano livelli d'ansia nella scala internalizzante alquanto significativi, mentre nella scala esternalizzante era il campione maschile a ottenere un punteggio maggiore. Tali elementi sono stati globalmente percepiti dagli insegnanti nel gruppo classe, ma difficilmente identificati nei singoli alunni. Sarebbe utile, percio, avviare attivita e percorsi psicologici in grado di valorizzare l'esperienza di ogni soggetto coinvolto nel mondo educativo e scolastico, in particolare per gli insegnanti e i loro alunni. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Objective: Here we propose a retrospective study on 319 subjects already investigated for a correlation between polymorphisms and intoxication by heavy metals, which, in some cases, lead to possible cancer alterations, in order to identify, through mathematical model, the analogies between heavy metals-induced epigenetic alterations and those caused by COVID-19. Patients and Methods: A total of 319 patients, 182 males and 137 females with a median age of 44 for the former and 31 for the latter, have been studied between 2016 and 2019 by performing a hair mineralometry, analyzed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and buccal swab followed by DNA extraction. Different polymorphisms have been investigated to find any correlations with heavy metals intoxication. Results: We found a correlation between some of the genotyped polymorphisms and altered levels of heavy metals in 86% of exanimated cases. According to estimates of our mathematical models, the described genetic susceptibilities could raise up the risk of contagion for COVID-19. Conclusions: The carriers of the above polymorphisms are probably more at risk of accumulating toxic metals, thereby, contracting severe oxidative damage. The mathematical model herein applied suggested us COVID-19 could use the same mechanism described for toxic metals. If these preliminary data will be confirmed, we suggest genetic screening as optimum solution to identify both cancer risk subjects and those highly exposed to virus contagion.