COVID-19-associated PTSD in the elderly—lessons learned for the next global pandemic

BackgroundWhen COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020, almost all countries implemented strict lockdowns and home quarantine orders in order to prevent spread of the virus. These implementations have severely affected the mental health of people all around the world especially the elderly, who are already physically and mentally fragile. There has been an escalation in the prevalence of depression, suicide, anxiety, substance abuse, domestic abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Main bodyThe aim of our review was to highlight PTSD in the elderly population who has recovered from COVID-19 infection and come up with some recommendations for the future. A thorough literature review was conducted focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on development and progression of PTSD during the pandemic.ConclusionIncreased allocation of resources by various government and private stakeholders is necessary to prepare for the long-term implications on mental health from the current and future pandemics.

Modeling the impact of the vaccine on the COVID-19 epidemic transmission via fractional derivative.

To achieve the goal of ceasing the spread of COVID-19 entirely it is essential to understand the dynamical behavior of the proliferation of the virus at an intense level. Studying this disease simply based on experimental analysis is very time consuming and expensive. Mathematical modeling might play a worthy role in this regard. By incorporating the mathematical frameworks with the available disease data it will be beneficial and economical to understand the key factors involved in the spread of COVID-19. As there are many vaccines available globally at present, henceforth, by including the effect of vaccination into the model will also support to understand the visible influence of the vaccine on the spread of COVID-19 virus. There are several ways to mathematically formulate the effect of disease on the population like deterministic modeling, stochastic modeling or fractional order modeling etc. Fractional order derivative modeling is one of the fundamental methods to understand real-world problems and evaluate accurate situations. In this article, a fractional order epidemic model S p E p I p E r p R p D p Q p V p on the spread of COVID-19 is presented. S p E p I p E r p R p D p Q p V p consists of eight compartments of population namely susceptible, exposed, infective, recovered, the quarantine population, recovered-exposed, and dead population. The fractional order derivative is considered in the Caputo sense. For the prophecy and tenacity of the epidemic, we compute the reproduction number R 0 . Using fixed point theory, the existence and uniqueness of the solutions of fractional order derivative have been studied. Furthermore, we are using the generalized Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method, to obtain the approximate solution of the fractional-order COVID-19 model. Finally, numerical results and illustrative graphic simulation are given. Our results suggest that to reduce the number of cases of COVID-19 we should reduce the contact rate of the people if the population is not fully vaccinated. However, to tackle the issue of reducing the social distancing and lock down, which have very negative impact on the economy as well as on the mental health of the people, it is much better to increase the vaccine rate and get the whole nation to be fully vaccinated.

Psychosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of case reports and case series.

BACKGROUND: Preliminary data suggest that patients with COVID-19 may experience psychiatric symptoms, including psychosis. We systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate the concurrence of new-onset psychosis or exacerbation of clinically stable psychosis through case reports and case series. METHODS: Six databases were searched, followed by an electronic and manual search of the relevant articles. Studies were identified using predetermined eligibility criteria. We evaluated the demographic characteristics, clinical history, course of illness, management, and prognosis of the patients in these studies. RESULTS: Case reports and case series, altogether consisting of 57 unique cases were included. The mean patient age for onset of psychotic symptoms was 43.4 years for men and 40.3 years for women. About 69% of patients had no prior history of psychiatric disorders. Most patients had mild COVID-19-related symptoms, with only 15 (26.3%) presenting with moderate to severe COVID-19-related disease and complications. The most commonly reported psychotic symptoms were delusions and hallucinations. Patients with psychotic symptoms were treated with antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, valproic acid, and electroconvulsive treatment. In 36 cases, psychotic symptoms resolved completely or improved significantly. Ten cases had partial improvement with residual psychotic symptoms, and one patient died due to cardiac arrest. CONCLUSION: Most patients responded to a low-to-moderate dose of antipsychotics with a quick recovery. However, the residual psychiatric symptoms highlight the need for careful monitoring and longer follow-up. Clinicians should be mindful of the occurrence of psychosis due to COVID-19 infection in a subset of COVID-19 patients that can be misdiagnosed as a psychotic disorder alone.

Social Media Reinvented: Can Social Media Help Tackle the Post-Pandemic Mental Health Onslaught?

Social media plays an omnipresent role in our modern lives, influencing every aspect of it, mental health being one of them. There has been increased focus on social media in recent times, especially its role in the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With various forms of social media, we hope to review the impact of various online platforms and emphasize their usage during the novel COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a universal feeling of consternation throughout the world, mainly as a consequence of social distancing norms and cancellations of schools and places of work, which has affected not only the livelihood but also the way of life of scores of people. Despite the negative press social media often receives in the field of mental health, there are opportunities to utilize its impact positively. This is not limited to connecting persons to mental health resources, spreading information about available COVID-19 treatment, and allowing social connection across the world. In this article, we review the renewed role that social media has had and future possibilities for its usage in the fight against the current pandemic.

COVID-Related Psychosis in Adolescents: A Case-Based Review.

Despite several reports of the neuropsychiatric effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in older adults, only a few cases of COVID-related psychosis have been reported in young patients. This case-based review compares the clinical presentations of 2 previously published cases of adolescent patients who developed psychosis in the context of COVID-related complications with a new case of a male adolescent who developed post-COVID psychosis. A discussion to raise clinicians' awareness of COVID-related psychosis in young patients as well as the need for cautious use of antipsychotic medications in this highly vulnerable age group is also provided.

Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating worldwide effect on mental health. Recent studies correlate the spreading of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with symptoms of depression, most prominent in postpartum women. Our systematic literature review scope is to identify the risk factors and predictors for postpartum depression (PPD) and describe the steps that should be taken to help postpartum women. This study will help clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to elucidate the predictors of PPD during this pandemic and prevent these adverse outcomes in future crises. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search by employing databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Embase to identify articles published before March 2021. About 463 publications were generated during our search process and from those, 36 were reviewed, summarized, and synthesized. Studies qualified the criteria if they (1) utilized qualitative or quantitative design, (2) explored the risk factors for PPD, and (3) were written in English. Quality evaluation of each study was achieved by using criteria set by Lincoln and Guba. RESULTS: Prevalence of depression symptoms ranged from 7% to 80.8% in postpartum women during the SARS-COV 2 pandemic. The risk factors for PPD were classified into 6 major categories: socio-demographic, psychological, pre-existing pathology, metabolic factors, previous events of miscarriage, and media misinformation. CONCLUSION: It is extremely vital to care for women's mental health during pregnancy and after childbirth during these unprecedented times. This review urges the need to design adequate interventions for this vulnerable population to prevent negative consequences of PPD.