ABSTRACT
Introduction: Studies focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in patients with psychiatric disorders have reported a deterioration of their mental health due to this situation [1]. A study focused on the early COVID-19 pandemic consequences on mental health found that participants reporting a current mental disorder were experiencing the greatest psychological impact, followed by those reporting a past mental disorder [2]. We hypothesize that having suffered or suffering from a depressive or anxiety disorder at that time can lead to maladaptive responses during the pandemic and social restrictions. Aims of the study: To describe the psychological impact among patients with a current or past diagnosis of Common Mental Disorders (CMD;anxiety and depressive disorders) after six months of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 1. To explore risk and protective factors associated with a Severe Psychological Impact (SPI). Methods: Cross-sectional survey. A self-reported online test was completed by the participants during the pandemic from October 14th to November 8th, 2020, from all over the Spanish territory. From the sample (N=5900), 1122 (19.02%) reported suffering from CMD in the past or at the moment the study was conducted (mean age±SD=46.01 ±14.12 years) The Spanish version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to evaluate the maladaptive psychological responses. Psychological impact in CMD was classified according to the number of maladaptive responses in the DASS-21 scale, considering: mild (1 response), moderate (2 responses) and severe (3 responses). Statistical analyses: Chi-square, t-student test (IBM SPSS version 24 was used for data analyses). The p-value was set at <0.05. Results: Women represented 70.1% of the sample. Approximately half of the participants were married or were living with a cohabiting partner (55.8%). Most of the responders had completed university studies (69.6%). From the sample, 1240 participants (21%) had a somatic disease (12% hypertension and 10.8% chronic respiratory disease). 16.1% increased their alcohol consumption and 14.1% increased their tobacco consumption. CMD reported the highest psychological impact on Depressive DASS-21 subscale (59.5% χ²=206.6, p<0.001), followed by Stress subscale (38.6, χ²= 482.2, p<0.001) and Anxiety subscale (31.3, χ²= 204.7, p<0.001). According to copying strategies, a high percentage of patients with CMD reported being able to enjoy leisure time (88.1%). Reading or listening to music were the most frequent activities (87.8%). 20.7% of the sample showed a SPI. Considering the statistically significant variables, a logistic regression analysis was obtained. On the one hand, older age (B=-0.03, OR=0.972, p<0.001), male sex (B=-0.6, OR=0.55, p=0.008), university studies (B=-0.43, OR=0.652, p=0.008) and being able to enjoy leisure time (B=-1.1, OR=0.341, p<0.001) were protective factors of SPI. On the other hand, having a somatic illness (B=0.59, OR=1.797, p<0.001) and the increase in tobacco use (B=0.58, OR=1.778, p=0.005) were factors associated with SPI. Conclusions: This study illustrates the psychological impact in CMD after half-year of the COVID-19 outbreak. Being young, a woman, suffering from somatic illness, and not having a university education are risk factors for SPI. However, being able to enjoy leisure time is the main protective factor against a SPI in CMD. No conflict of interest