Less Social Support for Patients With COVID-19: Comparison With the Experience of Nurses.

Context: Since December 2019, more than 80,000 patients have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. Social support status of COVID-19 patients, especially the impact of social support on their psychological status and quality of life, needs to be addressed with increasing concern. Objectives: In this study, we used social support rating scale (SSRS) to investigate the social support in COVID-19 patients and nurses. Methods: The present study included 186 COVID-19 patients at a Wuhan mobile cabin hospital and 234 nurses at a Wuhan COVID-19 control center. Responses to a mobile phone app-based questionnaire about social support, anxiety, depression, and quality of life were recorded and evaluated. Results: COVID-19 patients scored significantly lower than nurses did on the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Among these patients, 33.9% had anxiety symptoms, while 23.7% had depression symptoms. Overall SSRS, subjective social support scores and objective support scores of patients with anxiety were lower than those of patients without anxiety. This result was also found in depression. In addition, all dimensions of social support were positively correlated with quality of life. Interestingly, in all dimensions of social support, subjective support was found to be an independent predictive factor for anxiety, depression, and quality of life, whereas objective support was a predictive factor for quality of life, but not for anxiety and depression via regression analysis. Conclusion: Medical staffs should pay attention to the subjective feelings of patients and make COVID-19 patients feel respected, supported, and understood from the perspective of subjective support, which may greatly benefit patients, alleviate their anxiety and depression, and improve their quality of life.

Role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in neurodegenerative diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor for infecting and spreading in humans. Studies have shown that the widespread expression of ACE2 in human tissues may be associated with organ function damage (e.g., lung, kidney, and stomach) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, in neurodegenerative diseases, whose pathogenesis is closely related to advanced age, ACE2 plays a neurotrophic and protective role by activating the ACE2/Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis, thus inhibiting cognitive impairment. Early reports have revealed that the elderly are more susceptible to COVID-19 and that elderly patients with COVID-19 have faster disease progression and higher mortality. Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to understand the role of ACE2 in neurodegenerative diseases. In this paper, we review the relationship between COVID-19, neurodegenerative diseases, and ACE2, as well as provide recommendations for the protection of elderly patients with neurodegenerative diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control.

Since December 2019, more than 79,000 people have been diagnosed with infection of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). A large number of medical staff was sent to Wuhan city and Hubei province to aid COVID-19 control. Psychological stress, especially vicarious traumatization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, should not be ignored. To address this concern, the study employed a total of 214 general public and 526 nurses (i.e., 234 front-line nurses and 292 non-front-line nurses) to evaluate vicarious traumatization scores via a mobile app-based questionnaire. Front-line nurses are engaged in the process of providing care for patients with COVID-19. The results showed that the vicarious traumatization scores for front-line nurses including scores for physiological and psychological responses, were significantly lower than those of non-front-line nurses (P < 0.001). Interestingly, the vicarious traumatization scores of the general public were significantly higher than those of the front-line nurses (P < 0.001); however, no statistical difference was observed compared to the scores of non-front-line nurses (P > 0.05). Therefore, increased attention should be paid to the psychological problems of the medical staff, especially non-front-line nurses, and general public under the situation of the spread and control of COVID-19. Early strategies that aim to prevent and treat vicarious traumatization in medical staff and general public are extremely necessary.