TITLE:
Psychological Impacts Related to Stress and Fear during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes and Psychological Disorders as Risk Factors
AUTHORS:
Lucas Emmanuel Pedro de Paiva Teixeira, Renato Leonardo de Freitas, Alberto Abad, Juliana Almeida da Silva, Mayra Antonelli-Ponti, Sandra Bastos, Cláudia Helena Cerqueira Mármora, Luis Antonio Monteiro Campos, Scheila Paiva, José Aparecido Da Silva
KEYWORDS:
Mental Health, Anxiety Reactions, Fear, Peri-Traumatic Stress, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, COVID-19, Pandemic
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Neuroscience,
Vol.10 No.4,
November
9,
2020
ABSTRACT: Background and Aims: Patients and the general public are under insurmountable psychological pressure which may lead to various psychological
problems, such as anxiety, fear, depression, and insomnia, causing,
consequently, the impaired quality of life. Psychological crisis intervention
plays a pivotal role in the overall deployment of health-related quality of
life and disease control. A novel Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS- CoV-2),
a pathogen of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has affected several
sector activities, including people’s health. To enhance infection control methods, appropriate interventions, and
public health policies, the present study aims to assess the fear and
peri-traumatic stress during the COVID-19 inBrazil. Method: A cross-sectional
survey has been conducted from April 12th to 18th from
2020, using the Peri-Traumatic Distress Scale (CPDI) and the Fear Scale
(FCV-19S) aiming to measure the peri-traumatic stress and fear as psychological reactions during the
COVID-19 pandemic. For that purpose, an online spreadsheet was used to
send the questionnaire and scales to a sample of 1844 participants as a
collecting information tool. After the data analysis, the individuals were
separated into 4 groups: Group 1 (1232) population without chronic health
conditions; group 2 (298) patients with previous psychological suffering, group
3 (229) patients with cardiovascular diseases, group 4 (71) patients with
diabetes. For analysis, G1 were considered control for comparison
with groups 2, 3 and 4. Results: All the groups showed the CPDI
and FCV-19S increased in comparison with the G1 group. Concerning CPDI, the G 3
was increased when compared to G1, G2 and G4. The G3 had the FCV-19S higher in
comparison with G1, G2 and G4. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney
test showed a statistical difference between the control group in
comparison with 2 and 3 groups (Mann-Whitney p Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the
Brazilian population, with patients with heart disease and hypertension presenting the highest numbers of stress and fear, with
numbers comparable and even higher than those who reported previous
psychological distress.