Chronic pain and post-traumatic stress in older patients with psychiatric disorders during the Covid- 19 pandemic: co-occurrence and influence of attachment and personality factors (preprint)

Objectives The Covid-19 pandemic context may have had numerous effects on the health of older patients with psychiatric disorders (PD), confronting them with a new source of stress and hindering their access to care. The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effects of the pandemic on both chronic pain (CP) and post-traumatic stress (PTS); the comorbidity of the two disorders; and to identify common psychological risk factors. Design: Medical interviews were conducted during and after (12 and 18 months later) the first lockdown. Setting: The STERACOVID longitudinal cohort study, conducted in two French hospitals. Participants: 71 patients aged 65 or over; treated in an outpatient psychiatric service; and free of major neurocognitive disorders. Measurements: Validated scales were used to assess CP; PTS; personality traits; attachment style; and coping strategies. χ² and Student's t-tests, analyses of variance and logistic regression were used to compare patients with or without CP and/or PTS, in terms of attachment styles, personality traits and coping strategies. Results CP and PTS were frequent and often co-occurring at T2. Fearful and preoccupied attachment styles and neurotic and extraverted personality traits were associated with the development of these two disorders; while coping strategies were not determinant. Conclusions Our study identified factors associated with a higher risk of developing CP and/or PTS in the pandemic context. Assessment of attachment style and personality traits in clinical routine could help identify patients who are most vulnerable to this type of stress, and prevent the development of disabling chronic conditions.

Referrals to outpatient specialist child and adolescent psychiatry services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia (preprint)

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts to curb the spread of the disease have exposed people to significant distress on one hand and limited the resources to deal with it on the other. In this article, we compare the data on referrals to child and adolescent psychiatry specialist outpatient services before and during the pandemic.Methods We collected data about the number of provided e-referrals for child and adolescent psychiatric services for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. In the same way, data was also gathered for child and adolescent hematology/oncology and endocrinology services in the same period to serve as controls. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and gross trends were observed on data charts.Results There were marked reductions in the number of referrals provided in the first two epidemic waves. Follow-up referrals were generally reduced more than first referrals. For the third and fourth epidemic wave, there was no general trend of reduction – on the contrary, there was an increase in first referrals for child and adolescent psychiatry referrals, which was larger than in control fields. Females aged 10–19 contributed disproportionately to that increase. Referrals for neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders and especially affective disorders and behavioral syndromes, associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors, were important contributors to this trend.

COVID-19 and Mental Health in China: Effects of Personality and Demographics (preprint)

China was the first country affected by the COVID-19 virus and it reacted strongly in the first months of 2020. We present new evidence on the deterioration in mental health in China between 2018 and 2020. Using two waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) we can follow the same individuals pre and during the pandemic periods. We find clear evidence of a moderate level of mental health deterioration between 2018 and 2020. The prevalence of severe cases of depression, measured using an eight-item version of the common CES-D scale, increased from 6.33% in 2018 to 7.54% in 2020; quantifiable as around a 19% increase. This deterioration is higher for individuals who are subject to strict lockdowns, about 0.3 symptoms more on average, and it is stronger among those who already reported symptoms of depression in the 2018 wave of data. The effects we find are larger for individuals with more open personalities: one standard deviation of the Openness trait corresponds to 0.05 more symptoms, while more Neurotic individuals are rather surprisingly less affected. Younger cohorts and individuals with lower levels of education are more affected. Males seem slightly more affected than females, although this difference is statistically non-significant.

COVID-19 and Mental Health in China: Effects of Personality and Demographics (preprint)

China was the first country affected by the COVID-19 virus and it reacted strongly in the first months of 2020. This paper presents new evidence on the deterioration in mental health in China between 2018 and 2020. Using two waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) we can follow the same individuals pre and during the pandemic periods. We find clear evidence of a moderate level of mental health deterioration between 2018 and 2020. The prevalence of severe cases of depression, measured using an eight-item version of the common CES-D scale, increased from 6.33% in 2018 to 7.54% in 2020; quantifiable as around a 19% increase. This deterioration is higher for individuals who are subject to strict lockdowns, about 0.3 symptoms more on average, and it is stronger among those who already reported symptoms of depression in the 2018 wave of data. The effects we find are larger for individuals with more open personalities: one standard deviation of the Openness trait corresponds to 0.08 more symptoms, while more Neurotic individuals do not seem to be more affected. Younger cohorts and individuals with lower levels of education are more affected. Males seem slightly more affected than females, although this difference is statistically non-significant.

The relationship between personality traits and job satisfaction of military nurses in the face of the Covid-19 crisis (preprint)

Background: Since December 2019, the prevalence of Covid-19-induced pneumonia has spread rapidly, placing nurses in heavy working conditions and affecting nurses' job satisfaction depends on many factors, one of which is the compatibility between personality and job methods: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between personality traits and job satisfaction of nurses working in selected AJA hospitals in the face of Covid-19 crisis. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 131 nurses working in Covid_19 involved wards in selected AJA hospitals were randomly selected. Results: A total of 131 nurses who met the inclusion criteria were randomly selected. Job satisfaction is associated with personality traits of neuroticism, pleasantness and conscientiousness with P <0.005 and the level of job satisfaction with the average is 67.9% and the average job satisfaction of nurses working in selected AJA hospitals in the corona crisis is 47.35. . Also, nurses in all personality traits with 90.1% in neurotic personality traits, with 91.6% in extroverted personality traits, with 96.2% in flexible personality traits, with 96.2% in pleasant personality traits and with 94.7% The percentages in the conscientious personality trait are at level 2. Conclusion: This study showed that there is a significant relationship between job satisfaction and personality traits of neuroticism, pleasantness and conscientiousness in Covid_19 crisis and personality traits can predict nurses' job satisfaction. Also, nurses' job satisfaction in the Corona crisis is at a moderate level, and most nurses are in the 5-factor personality traits at level 2 of these personality traits.

Peripandemic psychiatric emergencies: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients according to diagnostic subgroup.

On March 11th, 2020, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic. Governments took drastic measures in an effort to reduce transmission rates and virus-associated morbidity. This study aims to present the immediate effects of the pandemic on patients presenting in the psychiatric emergency department (PED) of Hannover Medical School. Patients presenting during the same timeframe in 2019 served as a control group. A decrease in PED visits was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic with an increase in repeat visits within 1 month (30.2 vs. 20.4%, pBA = 0.001). Fewer patients with affective disorders utilized the PED (15.2 vs. 22.2%, pBA = 0.010). Suicidal ideation was stated more frequently among patients suffering from substance use disorders (47.4 vs. 26.8%, pBA = 0.004), while patients with schizophrenia more commonly had persecutory delusions (68.7 vs. 43.5%, pBA = 0.023) and visual hallucinations (18.6 vs. 3.3%, pBA = 0.011). Presentation rate of patients with neurotic, stress-related, and somatoform disorders increased. These patients were more likely to be male (48.6 vs. 28.9%, pBA = 0.060) and without previous psychiatric treatment (55.7 vs. 36.8%, pBA = 0.089). Patients with personality/behavioral disorders were more often inhabitants of psychiatric residencies (43.5 vs. 10.8%, pBA = 0.008). 20.1% of patients stated an association between psychological well-being and COVID-19. Most often patients suffered from the consequences pertaining to social measures or changes within the medical care system. By understanding how patients react to such a crisis situation, we can consider how to improve care for patients in the future and which measures need to be taken to protect these particularly vulnerable patients.