Are masks impacting psychiatric inpatients' treatment?

Concerns about the possible effects of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted several gaps in our knowledge about the association between social interactions and mental health. The current study aimed to characterize the unique effect of social interaction quantity and quality on daily depressed mood and loneliness and to identify the degree to which these processes operate at the within-person and between-person levels of analysis.A community sample of 515 adults was recruited to participate in 75 days of daily surveys. Participants reported on daily feelings of loneliness, depressed mood, social interaction frequency, engagement in vulnerable self-disclosure, and perceived responsiveness. Linear mixed models were used to identify the effect of daily social interaction quantity and quality on loneliness and depressed mood and to characterize the degree to which these effects varied across individuals.Social interaction quantity and perceived responsiveness were negatively associated with depressed mood and loneliness at the within-person level of analysis. Perceived responsiveness was also negatively associated with depressed mood and loneliness at both the within-person and between-person levels of analysis. Random slopes analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity in the within-person effects.The non-experimental design of this study precludes drawing causal conclusions. Furthermore, demographic and/or geographic differences in the observed effects may limit generalization.Engaging in more frequent, high-quality interactions may protect against daily depressed mood and loneliness despite one’s average level of these variables. Future research is needed to establish causality and identify the degree to which these findings generalize across samples and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Social & Personal Relationships is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The effect of social interaction quantity and quality on depressed mood and loneliness: A daily diary study

The first case of infection by SARS-CoV-2 (i.e., COVID-19) was officially recorded by the Italian National Health Service on 21 February 2020. Respiratory tract manifestations are the most common symptoms, such as gastrointestinal symptoms (GISs) like nausea or sickness, diarrhea, and anorexia, and psychological effects may be reported in affected individuals. However, similar symptoms may be observed in healthy people as a consequence of an anxiety state. Methods: We analyzed GISs and anxiety state during the COVID-19 lockdown period; from 9 March 2020 to 4 May 2020. A web-based survey consisting of 131 items was administered to 354 students affiliated with the School of Medicine of the University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro; Italy. A set of statistical analyses was performed to analyze the relationships among the answers to assess a correlation between the topics of interest. Results: The statistical analysis showed that 54.0% of interviewed reported at least one GISs, 36.16% of which reported a positive history for familial GISs (FGISs). The 354 subjects included in our cohort may be stratified as follows: 25.99% GISs and FGISs, 27.97% GISs and no-FGISs, 10.17% no-GISs and FGISs, 35.87% no-GISs and no-FGISs. Results indicated an anxiety state for 48.9% of respondents, of which 64.74% also presented GISs. In addition, considered dietary habits, we detect the increased consumption of hypercaloric food, sweetened drinks, and alcoholic beverages. Conclusions: The increase of GISs during the lockdown period in a population of medical students, may be correlated to both dietary habits and anxiety state due to a concern for one’s health.

Anxiety and Gastrointestinal Symptoms Related to COVID-19 during Italian Lockdown.

Abstract Objective The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on suicidal thoughts and behavior has been widely hypothesized but remains largely unexplored at the population-level. We aimed to assess changes in suicide risk (SR) in people with and without mental disorders, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Czechia. Methods We analyzed data from three nationwide cross-sectional surveys of Czech adults (November 2017, May and November 2020). For the 2017 data collection, we employed paper and pencil interviewing, while for the two 2020 data collections, we used a mixed computer-assisted web interviewing and computer-assisted telephone interviewing approach. All samples were representative in terms of age, gender, education, and area of residence for the Czech adult population (18+). We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview to screen for mental disorders and SR. We calculated weighted prevalence rates with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results When compared to baseline, we found a 4% and 6% increase in SR in individuals without mental disorders in pandemic surveys (1.95% (1.45%; 2.44%) vs. 6.29% (5.28%; 7.30%) and 8.42% (7.19%; 9.65%)). Relative to baseline, SR in people with major depressive episode or anxiety disorders was elevated in May and November 2020 (22.35% (17.64%; 27.06%) vs. 36.68% (32.45%; 40.91%) and 38.88% (34.51%; 43.25%)). Conclusions We found substantially increased SR in both people with and without mental disorders, however, these changes could be partially related to differing data collection methods used in the baseline and subsequent surveys. Ongoing prevention, monitoring and evaluation of nationwide suicidality is warranted. HIGHLIGHTS We found that suicide risk substantially increased during the pandemic Suicide risk was elevated in both individuals with and without mental disorders Our findings support increased suicide monitoring and prevention

Suicide Risk in Individuals With and Without Mental Disorders Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Three Nationwide Cross-Sectional Surveys in Czechia

Adherence to anti-COVID-19 rules is important to slow down the pandemic spread. The present study investigated potential predictors of the adherence.Data of 1.247 participants from Germany (age: M (SD) = 22.99 (6.18)) were assessed via online surveys in autumn and winter 2020. The focus of the data collection was on adherence to anti-COVID-19 rules, sense of control, psychological burden, and sources of COVID-19 information.In moderated mediation analyses, the positive relationship between sense of control and adherence to anti-COVID-19 rules was significantly mediated by the level of psychological burden experienced by the COVID-19 situation. The source of COVID-19 information significantly moderated the negative association between burden and adherence. Specifically, the higher the use of social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and the lower the use of official governmental sites and of television reports, the closer the link between high burden and low adherence.Due to the cross-sectional study design, the present findings allow only hypothetical assumptions of causality.The present results disclose potential mechanisms that could contribute to the adherence to anti-COVID-19 rules. They emphasize the role of the COVID-19 information source for the adherence level. Potential ways of how the level of adherence could be enhanced are discussed. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100317

Relationship between sense of control, psychological burden, sources of information and adherence to anti-COVID-19 rules

To the Editor: As the worldwide number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases continues to rise, the medical community has identified another imminent crisis—the mental health consequences of the pandemic. An estimated 45% of American adults feel that COVID-19 has had a negative impact on their mental health [1]. As physical distancing measures remain in place, medical providers continue to anticipate surges in isolation-related mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and suicide. Shelter-in-place orders may lead to increasing rates of substance use relapse, overdose, domestic violence, and child abuse [2]. Furthermore, the trauma of caring for individuals with COVID-19, felt by both frontline health care providers and the general public, will likely have lasting consequences. The threat of an enduring mental health crisis has led physicians to call for early preventive efforts [2]. However, the increased burden of mental illness resulting from this pandemic will likely place additional strain on an already overextended mental health care system. The medical community must leverage all of its available assets to combat this threat. We believe that medical students represent a significant untapped resource that should be mobilized to address this impending mental health crisis. At the time of the writing of this manuscript, the Association of American Medical Colleges stated, “Unless there is a critical health care workforce need locally, we strongly suggest that medical students not be involved in any direct patient care activities” [3]. At the height of the pandemic, medical schools across the country subsequently shifted to virtual learning and barred students from in-person clinical work. In response, students developed new roles to serve their communities. They made headlines collecting personal protective equipment for hospitals, providing child care for essential workers, and ensuring food security for high-risk community members [4]. Medical students also advocated for their incorporation into telemedicine efforts in order to relieve overburdened medical providers [5]. Missing from this discourse was a discussion of the ways medical students could be voluntarily mobilized to address the mental health challenges resulting from this pandemic. The resistance to medical student involvement in the COVID-19 response is based on reasonable safety concerns, but a carefully designed medical student mental health response could avert these risks. Recently proposed interventions to address the mental health consequences of COVID19 were designed for remote delivery [2]. The use of digital teleconferencing programs to deliver these interventions would enable medical students to avoid exacerbating infection risks and shortages of personal protective equipment. Whereas medical students may present a liability in the direct care of patients with COVID-19, they are well suited to provide remote mental health support. We propose the following three interventions as examples of a medical student response to the mental health consequences of COVID-19. First, medical students could serve in a preventive mental health system operating by a stepped care model. Under the supervision of primary care physicians, students could use telehealth systems to perform thorough mental wellness checks across large patient panels. This cannot currently be offered by physicians due to patient care burdens related to COVID-19. Students could fill these gaps by performing standardizedmental health screens, offering psychoeducation, and alerting providers about patients who require a higher level of psychiatric care. Such a system could be crucial for identifying isolation-related experiences including domestic violence, child abuse, and substance use relapse, which may go unnoticed as resources are diverted to the COVID-19 response. This triage strategy would alleviate the burden on health care * Anthony N. Almazan anthony_almazan@hms.harvard.edu

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India Perez-Urbano

Papers

The Medical Student Response to the Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19