Stress and coping in times of pandemic: Longitudinal follow-up of a group of medical patients / Estrés y afrontamiento en tiempos de pandemia: Seguimiento longitudinal de un grupo de pacientes médico

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health and medical care of patients with pre-existing conditions. We longitudinally evaluated perceived stress, psychological distress, and coping strategies in 50 patients with medical diseases, finding that, 6 months after baseline evaluation, perceived stress and psychological distress were increased, and that less use was made of active coping strategies. Age (younger patients), previous psychological problems, and altered medical treatments emerge as risk factors. Proactive detection of psychopathological suffering is essential to prevent a parallel mental health pandemic from unfolding. Covid-19 has had an impact on patients with medical diseases, expressed in increased psychological vulnerability that may interfere in their disease course. While telematic monitoring is an important factor in reducing impact, early detection of psychopathological symptoms is crucial to ensuring adherence to treatments and to developing effective biopsychosocial approaches.

La pandemia de Covid-19 ha afectado la salud mental y la atención médica de pacientes con afecciones preexistentes. Se evaluó longitudinalmente la percepción de estrés, malestar psicológico y estrategias de afrontamiento en 50 pacientes con patologías médicas, encontrándose que, 6 meses después de la evaluación inicial, el estrés percibido y el malestar psicológico se incrementaron, mientras que se redujo el uso de estrategias de afrontamiento activas. La edad (pacientes más jóvenes), los problemas psicológicos previos y la alteración del tratamiento médico emergen como factores de riesgo. La detección proactiva del sufrimiento psicopatológico es esencial para evitar que se desarrolle una pandemia paralela de salud mental. La Covid-19 ha tenido un impacto en pacientes con enfermedades médicas, expresado en una mayor vulnerabilidad psicológica que puede interferir en el curso de su enfermedad. Si bien el monitoreo telemático es un factor importante para reducir el impacto, la detección temprana de los síntomas psicopatológicos es crucial para garantizar la adherencia a los tratamientos y para desarrollar enfoques biopsicosociales efectivos.

Psychological Distress in Erectile Dysfunction: The Moderating Role of Attachment.

INTRODUCTION: In clinical consultations, men with erectile dysfunction do not always express personal, sexual, and interpersonal concerns. AIM: We explore whether the attenuated impact of erectile dysfunction may be explained by a regulation of negative affect that causes activation of the attachment system. METHODS: The study sample consisted of 69 men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction, mean (SD) age 56 (10.83) years. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires to assess erectile dysfunction severity, attachment style, sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and psychological symptoms. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The moderating role of attachment between erectile dysfunction and sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and psychological distress was evaluated using multiple linear regression and moderation analysis. RESULTS: All men in the sample had high attachment avoidance, distributed between the dismissive-avoidant (69.6%) and fearful-avoidant (30.4%) substyles, but low levels of psychological symptoms. Despite their erectile dysfunction, 27 patients (39.1%) rated their sexual life as satisfactory, and 46 (66.7%) rated their relationship with their partner as satisfactory. Men with fearful-avoidant attachment reported feeling more sexual desire and less sexual satisfaction than men with dismissive-avoidant attachment. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that sexual satisfaction variance was explained by erectile dysfunction severity, attachment anxiety, and relationship satisfaction scores. Moderation analysis showed that attachment anxiety, but not relationship satisfaction, moderated the impact of erectile dysfunction on sexual satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The avoidance dimension of attachment, which tends to be high in patients with erectile dysfunction, involves deactivation of the sexual system in an effort to minimize the emotional distress associated with erectile dysfunction, which damages sexual and relationship intimacy and delays the decision to obtain professional help. The presence of high attachment avoidance and the moderating value of attachment anxiety allow us to propose specific treatments for these men. Maestre-Lorén F, Castillo-Garayoa JA, López-i-Martín X, et al. Psychological Distress in Erectile Dysfunction: The Moderating Role of Attachment. Sex Med 2021;9:100436.