Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected mental health. However, its impact between different pandemic waves and different populations has been scarcely studied. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in psychiatric symptomatology between the general po...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: M. S. González, S. Luna, A. B. Cuéllar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2023-03-01
Series:European Psychiatry
Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823008866/type/journal_article
_version_ 1797616577079672832
author M. S. González
S. Luna
A. B. Cuéllar
author_facet M. S. González
S. Luna
A. B. Cuéllar
author_sort M. S. González
collection DOAJ
description Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected mental health. However, its impact between different pandemic waves and different populations has been scarcely studied. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in psychiatric symptomatology between the general population (GP) and health personnel (HP) during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico. Methods 404 participants were included as part of a cross-sectional study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an online survey. Second wave covered from September 27, 2020 to April 17, 2021 and the third wave covered from June 6, 2021 to October 23, 2021. GP refers to Mexican residents during the pandemic, and HP includes healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, residents). Sociodemographic data were collected and scales of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder -7), insomnia (insomnia severity index), and post-traumatic stress (Impact of event scale revised) were applied. We gather information in a database in Excel, for later analysis using IBM SPSS Statics 21. Traditional descriptive statistics for quantitative variables and frequencies for qualitative variables were obtained. Association and statistical correlation were analyzed using Chi2 tests. Results 71.3% of the collected sample were female, mean age 35.5 (sd= 11.6), the 62.5% consisted of health personnel, the majority were single 48.9%, with postgraduate education 48.9%, middle class (97.2%). A higher percentage of symptoms of depression and anxiety was observed in health personnel compared to the general population during the second wave of COVID-19 (33.9% vs. 19.5%, p=0.047; 18.2% vs. 39.3%, p=0.006). However, during the third wave of COVID-19, more depressive, anxious and insomnia symptoms were observed in the general population compared to health personnel (73.9% vs. 44.4%, p=0.020; 73.9 vs. 25.9%, p= 0.000; 43.5% vs. 11.1%, p=0.008) (Figure 1). Image: Conclusions Health personnel presented more depressive and anxious symptoms during the second wave of COVID-19 compared to the general population, however, the results were inverse during the third wave, showing more psychiatric symptoms in the general population with significant differences. This may be due to various factors, including unawareness, fear of the disease, and exposure during the second wave of the pandemic of health personnel. Moreover, long-lasting containment measures could have overwhelmed the GP by the third wave. Our study underscores the importance of addressing HP mental stressors to increase its resilience in similar health crises. Disclosure of Interest None Declared
first_indexed 2024-03-11T07:43:07Z
format Article
id doaj.art-60bc9e97d57649b9b66fcb3512d3000f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0924-9338
1778-3585
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T07:43:07Z
publishDate 2023-03-01
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format Article
series European Psychiatry
spelling doaj.art-60bc9e97d57649b9b66fcb3512d3000f2023-11-17T05:08:11ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852023-03-0166S411S41210.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.886Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in MexicoM. S. González0S. Luna1A. B. Cuéllar2Psychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, MexicoPsychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, MexicoPsychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected mental health. However, its impact between different pandemic waves and different populations has been scarcely studied. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in psychiatric symptomatology between the general population (GP) and health personnel (HP) during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico. Methods 404 participants were included as part of a cross-sectional study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, using an online survey. Second wave covered from September 27, 2020 to April 17, 2021 and the third wave covered from June 6, 2021 to October 23, 2021. GP refers to Mexican residents during the pandemic, and HP includes healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, residents). Sociodemographic data were collected and scales of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder -7), insomnia (insomnia severity index), and post-traumatic stress (Impact of event scale revised) were applied. We gather information in a database in Excel, for later analysis using IBM SPSS Statics 21. Traditional descriptive statistics for quantitative variables and frequencies for qualitative variables were obtained. Association and statistical correlation were analyzed using Chi2 tests. Results 71.3% of the collected sample were female, mean age 35.5 (sd= 11.6), the 62.5% consisted of health personnel, the majority were single 48.9%, with postgraduate education 48.9%, middle class (97.2%). A higher percentage of symptoms of depression and anxiety was observed in health personnel compared to the general population during the second wave of COVID-19 (33.9% vs. 19.5%, p=0.047; 18.2% vs. 39.3%, p=0.006). However, during the third wave of COVID-19, more depressive, anxious and insomnia symptoms were observed in the general population compared to health personnel (73.9% vs. 44.4%, p=0.020; 73.9 vs. 25.9%, p= 0.000; 43.5% vs. 11.1%, p=0.008) (Figure 1). Image: Conclusions Health personnel presented more depressive and anxious symptoms during the second wave of COVID-19 compared to the general population, however, the results were inverse during the third wave, showing more psychiatric symptoms in the general population with significant differences. This may be due to various factors, including unawareness, fear of the disease, and exposure during the second wave of the pandemic of health personnel. Moreover, long-lasting containment measures could have overwhelmed the GP by the third wave. Our study underscores the importance of addressing HP mental stressors to increase its resilience in similar health crises. Disclosure of Interest None Declaredhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823008866/type/journal_article
spellingShingle M. S. González
S. Luna
A. B. Cuéllar
Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
European Psychiatry
title Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
title_full Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
title_fullStr Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
title_full_unstemmed Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
title_short Psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Mexico
title_sort psychiatric symptoms in general population and health personnel during the second and third waves of covid 19 in mexico
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823008866/type/journal_article
work_keys_str_mv AT msgonzalez psychiatricsymptomsingeneralpopulationandhealthpersonnelduringthesecondandthirdwavesofcovid19inmexico
AT sluna psychiatricsymptomsingeneralpopulationandhealthpersonnelduringthesecondandthirdwavesofcovid19inmexico
AT abcuellar psychiatricsymptomsingeneralpopulationandhealthpersonnelduringthesecondandthirdwavesofcovid19inmexico