Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, the fear of infection increases and, with it, the stigma-discrimination, which makes it an additional problem of the epidemic. However, studies about stigma associated with coronavirus are scarce worldwide. Aims: To determine the association between stigmatisation and fear of COVID-19 in the general population of Colombia. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 1,687 adults between 18 and 76 years old ( M = 36.3; SD = 12.5), 41.1% health workers, filled out an online questionnaire on Stigma-Discrimination and the COVID-5 Fear Scale, adapted by the research team. Results: The proportion of high fear of COVID-19 was 34.1%; When comparing the affirmative answers to the questionnaire on stigma-discrimination towards COVID-19, it was found that the difference was significantly higher in the general population compared to health workers in most of the questions evaluated, which indicates a high level of stigmatisation in that group. An association between high fear of COVID-19 and stigma was evidenced in 63.6% of the questions in the questionnaire. Conclusion: Stigma-discrimination towards COVID-19 is frequent in the Colombian population and is associated with high levels of fear towards said disease, mainly people who are not health workers.

The FCV-19S was the first instrument designed to assess the severity of fear related to COVID-19 and has already been validated in many languages. The objective of this study was to evaluate the homogeneity and construct validity of the 5-item version of the FCV19S, using an online questionnaire in 599 people. The participants’ age ranged from 18 to 65 years. Age, gender, marital status, educational level, employment status, and socioeconomic status were analyzed. In the evaluation process we assessed interitem correlation, item rest-correlation, confirmatory factor analysis: Root Mean Square Error of Approximation, Comparative Fix Index, Tucker-Lewis Index; internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega), and the Rasch model was assessed for learning more about the psychometric properties of the scale, which allows a detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of a scale. The FCV-5S has adequate psychometric indicators from the perspective of the Classical Theory of Items. The major limitations were using a self-reported measure and having a convenience sample not necessarily representative of the general population of Argentina.

The COVID-19-related stigma towards healthcare workers negatively influences their performance and job satisfaction, and well-being. The frequency of COVID-19-related stigma towards healthcare workers and its associated factors has not been sufficiently investigated. The objective was to determine the frequency and variables associated with COVID-19-related stigmatisation towards health workers in emerging-age university adults in Mexico. Analytical and cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire in 1,054 students between 18 and 29 years of age. Demographic variables, religiosity, fear of COVID-19 and stigma-discrimination related to COVID-19 towards healthcare workers were analysed. The latter was set as the dependent variable, while demographic variables, religiosity and high fear of COVID-19 were the independent variables. For the association between the variables, a binomial and logarithmic generalised linear model was designed to calculate the adjusted prevalence ratios. The proportion of high stigma-discrimination was 12.4%, and this was associated with a high fear of COVID-19 (APR 1.51, 95% CI 1.06 to 2.23). The main limitations were the cross-sectional nature, social desirability bias, non-probabilistic sampling. The results highlight the importance of establishing programmes to reduce COVID-19-related stigmatisation towards healthcare workers.

Introduction: COVID-19-related stigma towards healthcare professionals negatively influences their job performance and well-being, however, this issue has not been sufficiently investigated. Objective: To determine the frequency and variables associated with COVID-19-related stigma toward health care workers in a university population in Mexico. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study. An online questionnaire was sent to 1,054 students between 18 and 29 years of age. Demographic variables, religiosity, fear of COVID-19 and its association with COVID-19-related stigma-discrimination towards health workers (dependent variable) were analyzed. Bivariate analysis and a generalized linear model were performed to calculate adjusted prevalence ratios. Results: The proportion of high stigma-discrimination was 12.4% and was associated with high fear of COVID-19 RPa= 1.51 (95% CI 1.06 - 2.23). Conclusion: the findings highlight the importance of establishing programs to reduce COVID-19-related stigmatization towards healthcare professionals.

El consumo de sustancias con potencial adictivo es un problema relevante de salud. La evidencia científica sugiere que los mecanismos subyacentes que regulan los procesos comportamentales en las adicciones involucran un complejo interjuego entre factores genéticos y ambientales. Por lo tanto, esta revisión narrativa tiene como objetivo aportar un marco de referencia que permita sintetizar la evidencia sobre interacciones genes- ambiente-agente desde la perspectiva de la historia natural de la enfermedad y los estadios del proceso adictivo para: alcohol, nicotina, cannabis, psicoestimulantes y opioides. En esta revisión realizamos una búsqueda exhaustiva de la literatura sin límites de tiempo en PubMed, Ebsco, Lilacs y SciELO, revisando el título y el resumen se seleccionaron artículos originales en humanos o animales que abordaran la etiología de las adiciones según el enfoque metodológico de interacción entre genes y ambiente (G-A), incluyendo artículos en español, inglés y portugués. Los estudios genéticos han revelado el papel crítico de los modificadores epigenéticos (acetilación de las histonas) en mantener la homeóstasis cerebral en condiciones patológicas y enfocarse en las interacciones G-A también permitirá caracterizar subgrupos (basados en los factoresambientales) de alto riesgo para conductas adictivas que pueden ser objeto de intervenciones específicas, por lo que, las estrategias de tratamiento deben englobar una combinación de intervenciones psicosociales con terapia génica que involucren las manipulaciones farmacológicas de las histonas que pueden contribuir a diseñar mejores terapias y tal vez conducir a un manejo más exitoso de las drogodependencias.