Anxiety and Depression during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Coping Strategies.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests increased anxious-depressive symptoms in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic, also in its second wave. High symptom variability across individuals suggests that risk and protective factors, including coping strategies, can play a mediating role. METHODS: General Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Brief-COPE questionnaires were administered to people attending a COVID-19 point-of-care. Univariate and multivariate methods were used to test the association of symptoms with risk and protective factors. RESULTS: A total of 3509 participants (27.5% with moderate-severe anxiety; 12% with depressive symptoms) were recruited. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, including age, sex, sleep, physical activity, psychiatric treatments, parenthood, employment, and religiosity were associated with affective symptoms. Avoidant (self-distraction, venting, behavioral disengagement) and approach (emotional support, self-blame but not positive reframing and acceptance) coping strategies predicted greater anxiety. Avoidant strategies, including venting, denial, behavioral disengagement, substance use, and self-blame, and the humor strategy were associated with more severe depressive symptoms, while the planning predicted the opposite. CONCLUSIONS: Coping strategies, in addition to socio-demographic and life-habit factors, could have contributed to modulating anxious and depressive symptoms during the second-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus advocating for interventions aimed at promoting positive coping strategies to reduce the psychosocial toll of the pandemic.

Evaluation of peritraumatic distress at the point of care: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 related peritraumatic distress has been investigated in the general population with contrasting results probably due to the perceived risk of developing COVID-19. Our study aims to investigate this condition in individuals with ascertained or probable SARS-CoV-2 exposure. METHODS: The Coronavirus Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) was administered to people attending a COVID-19 point of care. The sample was stratified for perceived risk in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases, close contacts, case relatives, undergoing screening subjects, and symptomatic subjects. RESULTS: 1463 subjects participated, and with a mean CPDI Score of 28.2 (SD 16.9). CPDI Scores in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases were significantly higher than case relatives (p = 0.02). Multiple logistic regression revealed that having had work changes (p = 0.001), night sleep changes (p < 0.001), physical activity reduction (p = 0.002), alcohol consumption changes (p = 0.003), and at least one relative lost to COVID-19 (p < 0.001) independently predicted higher CPDI Scores. Male sex (p < 0.001), age ≥ 35 years (p < 0.001), higher educational level (p = 0.002), night sleep >7 hours (p = 0.002), and being physically active (p = 0.018) were identified as protective factors. LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional design and the regional recruitment area limit the generalizability of results. CONCLUSIONS: Mean CPDI values were above the threshold for medium grade peritraumatic distress, with greater CPDI Scores in subjects who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared to family members or caregivers without a clear indication to undergo the swab. Specific demographics, physical and mental health events could help in identifying individuals at greater risk of COVID-19 related peritraumatic distress that may benefit from early treatment.

[Attitudes and risk-taking behaviour for HIV infection, of drug addicts followed by a Drug Addiction Treatment Service (Ser.T).]. / Atteggiamenti e comportamenti a rischio di infezione da HIV in tossicodipendenti in trattamento presso il Ser.T.

A questionnaire was administered to 160 injection drug users, enrolled in a methadone or buprenorphine maintenance treatment program at their local Drug Addiction Treatment Service (Ser.T), in order to measure their attitudes and risk-taking behaviours towards HIV. Despite being on a maintenance treatment program, almost half of the interviewed subjects (43,75%) declared that they continued to use drugs, occasionally (15,62%), monthly (6,25%), weekly (10,62%) or daily (11,25%). Moreover, a high rate of risk-taking behaviour for HIV was found among the interviewed drug addicts, such as sharing of injection equipment (39,40%), irregular condom use (15,00%) and unprotected sex with casual partners (9,40%). When asked about which interventions they would consider to be most effective for HIV prevention, more than half of the interviewed subjects (58,12%) indicated qualified information regarding HIV transmission, while a lower but not negligible proportion of subjects thought the free distribution of syringes (21,25%) or condoms (20,63%) would be most effective. In contrast to other studies, our results show that pharmacological maintenance treatments may not have a role in preventing HIV infection among injection drug users. On the other hand, our results suggest that the presence, within the Ser.T team, of professional educators specialized in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases may be more useful.