Anxiety, Stress and Depression in COVID-19 Survivors From an Italian Cohort of Hospitalized Patients: Results From a 1-Year Follow-Up

Background Mental health-related symptoms can persist over time beyond the most common respiratory clinical features of COVID-19. A recent meta-analysis underlined that mental health sequalae may be relevant for COVID-19 survivors and reported the following prevalence rates: 20% for post-traumatic stress disorder, 22% for anxiety, 36% for psychological distress, and 21% for depression. In the context of a multi-disciplinary follow-up project, we already investigated the mid-term (4 months) psychiatric outcomes in a sample of COVID-19 survivors. Patients were re-assessed after 1-year since hospital discharge. Methods Follow-up conducted after 1 year involved 196 individuals recovered from COVID-19. Patients were assessed with a multi-disciplinary approach;including both a clinical interview performed by an experienced psychiatrist, trained in the use of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) to assess the presence of anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms and the following self-administered questionnaires: Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Resilience Scale for Adults, Impact of Event Scale, and COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). Results Anxiety (p < 0.0001) and depressive (p < 0.0003) symptoms registered at the clinical interview showed a significant improvement from the 4 to 12-months follow-up. Logistic regression model showed that female gender (p = 0.006), arterial hypertension (p = 0.01), obesity (0.04), anxiety (p < 0.0001), and depressive (p = 0.02) symptoms at 4-months follow-up were associated with persistence of anxiety symptoms at 12 months. At logistic regression analysis female gender (p = 0.02) and depressive symptoms at 4-months follow-up (p = 0.01) were associated with depressive symptoms after 12 months. Conclusion Severity of the disease in the acute phase, in this study, was not a determining factor in identifying subjects at risk of developing clinically relevant anxiety and depression as a consequence of COVID-19 disease. Findings from the logistic regressions suggest that the factors most affecting depression and anxiety in COVID survivors after 12 months were female gender, the presence of anxiety and depression after 4 months and some physical symptoms, not necessarily COVID-related. Impact of infection and consequent hospitalization for COVID-19 did no longer represent a relevant issue for depressive symptoms, compared to other general factors.

The Mediating Role of Gender, Age, COVID-19 Symptoms and Changing of Mansion on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers Operating in Italy during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the performance of hospitals and intensive care units around the world. Health care workers (HCWs) have been used to developmental symptoms, but this was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic when HCWs have been faced with many other sources of stress and anxiety that can usually be avoided. Moreover, long-term shifts and unprecedented population restrictions have weakened people's ability to cope with stress. The research aims to observe the dynamic interplay between burnout, depression, distress, and anxiety in HCWs working in various settings, with specific a focus on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal achievement in mediating a worse mental health status during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. We performed a mediation analysis, which resulted in a strong correlation among depression, psychological distress, health perception and anxiety, and the impact of job burnout on anxiety, depression, and distress. Gender seemed to have a strong correlation with burnout, anxiety, and distress; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Quality of Life seemed to affect anxiety and depression; the possible changes in job tasks and duties (intended as a change in work area or location and role change)influenced depression and job burnout. Encouraging supportive and educational strategies would be recommended to policymakers.

The Mental Health Impact of 2019-nCOVID on Healthcare Workers From North-Eastern Piedmont, Italy. Focus on Burnout.

The 2019-nCOVID pandemic as a public health emergency has faced healthcare systems with unprecedented challenges. Our study aimed to focus on the mental health impact of the 2019-nCOVID pandemic on healthcare workers (HCWs) from North-Eastern Piedmont, Italy. For this purpose, we performed an online survey which was e-mailed to HCWs at the end of the first peak of the pandemic. We involved both frontline and not-frontline HCWs, employed in the hospital or in healthcare services outside the hospital. The primary outcome of our research was the assessment of burnout, while secondary outcomes included the investigation of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. We observed higher levels of burnout (especially in the Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment dimensions), in females, in HCWs aged <30 years, in those exposed to changes in their daily and family habits, in those who had to change their duties at work and in residents in training. In our HCWs sample we found lower levels of anxiety and depression than those reported in the literature. The problematic levels of burnout and adverse psychological outcomes observed during the pandemic cannot be underestimated. Given the recurrence in autumn 2020 of a new pandemic peak, which has once again put a strain on the health system and HCWs, it is supported the importance of a careful assessment of HCWs' mental health, and of the possible risk and protective factors both in the work environment and in the extra-work one.

Mid-term Psychiatric Outcomes of Patients Recovered From COVID-19 From an Italian Cohort of Hospitalized Patients.

Background: Although the usual primary clinical manifestation of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is respiratory, several non-respiratory symptoms have been described, including neuropsychiatric ones. The aim of this study was to investigate the mid-term mental health outcomes in patients recovered from COVID-19, 3-4 months after discharge from the University Hospital Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy. Furthermore, we investigated the possible association of the mid-term mental health consequences of the COVID-19 infection with patients' clinical current status, persistent physical impairment and severity of acute phase of the disease. Methods: Prospective study involving 238 individuals recovered from COVID-19. In the context of a multi-disciplinary approach, patients' assessment included both a clinical interview performed by an experienced psychiatrist, trained in the use of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to assess the presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and self-administered questionnaires: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), Impact of Event Scale (IES). Results: At the psychiatric assessment 32.9 and 29.5% of participants showed anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Changes in appetite and sleep patterns emerged for 15.6 and 31.2% of patients. According to the self-administered questionnaires, 7.1% of participants had moderate-severe anxiety levels (BAI), while 10.5% had mild to severe depression (BDI-II). Twenty-six (11%) participants were referred to further psychiatric consultation. Psychiatric symptoms showed no correlation with acute COVID-19 severity; in our sample patients with depressive symptoms at the clinical interview, as well as those with mild to severe levels of depression according to BDI-II scores, had lower forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) values than those without and greater odds for persistent, poor tolerance for physical efforts. Conclusions: As could be expected, an approach including both a psychiatric interview and the use of self-administered questionnaires is likely to capture the psychiatric outcome of patients recovered from COVID-19 better than questionnaires alone. Anxiety and depressive symptoms at follow-up had no correlation with the severity of COVID acute manifestations, but rather with ongoing and persistent physical symptoms. Further studies and longer follow-up duration will allow a better understanding of the complex relationship between residual physical symptoms, quality of life and psychological health.