COVID-19 and Mental Health—What Do We Know So Far?

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic brought several worldwide health, social, and economic disturbances-particularly associated with the imposed confinement measures-that raised concerns about an emerging public mental health crisis. Studies investigating the early mental health impact of the pandemic on general population and vulnerable groups, such as healthcare workers, revealed a high prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, among others, and found several risk and protective factors. Along with these findings, the risk of substance use, suicide, domestic violence, and complicated grief may increase. We further discuss interventions that can be applied at a governmental, institutional, and individual level to minimize the mental health consequences of the pandemic, such as using telehealth to provide remote support or practicing self-care. These interventions should be maintained after the initial outbreak, as current disturbances may impact long-term well-being. We encourage the development of longitudinal studies to assess long-term adaptive responses.

Anxiety and Panic Buying Behaviour during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Analysis of Toilet Paper Hoarding Contents on Twitter

“…The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as the risk of substance use, suicides, and domestic violence, has increased throughout the pandemic. Anxiety and fear were seen particularly with panic buying behaviours across the world [2,3].The COVID-19-driven hoarding and panic buying behaviour by the mass population left supermarket shelves in many locations empty for weeks. Panic buying is defined as when consumers purchase an exceptionally large amount of products in the anticipation of a shortage.…”

Medium‐term effects of COVID‐19 pandemic on epilepsy: A follow‐up study

“…27 Insomnia remained highly prevalent in our follow-up study, supporting previous findings showing worsening of sleep disturbances among epilepsy patients during the first peak of the pandemic and an association with seizure control. The socioeconomic effects of the pandemic have also had a significant effect on psychological distress and mental health, 31 being the socioeconomic status a known determinant of psychological distress and health outcomes among epilepsy patients. 32,33 In our cohort, 27% of patients were still affected by a reduction in income several months after the easing of restrictions, and this factor was the second strongest predictor of an increase in seizure frequency.…”

COVID-19 Lockdown in Portugal: Challenges, Strategies and Effects on Mental Health

“…Specifically, in Portugal, some studies on COVID-19 pandemic and mental health have been conducted. Some are literature reviews (Dos Santos et al 2020;Figueiredo et al 2020), others focus on specific populations such as secondary school students (Alves et al 2020) or youth minorities (Gato et al 2020). Furthermore, Branquinho et al (2020) explores COVID-19 impact on adolescents lives, and Mendes-Santos et al (2020) discuss digital mental health strategies.…”