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People with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) face great challenges during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research found equal levels of distress in pwCF and healthy controls (HC). The current study aimed to investigate the mental health burden and safety behavior in pwCF. Sixty-nine adult pwCF and sixty-nine propensity-score-matched HC participated in this study. Participants completed an anonymous online questionnaire assessing distress, generalized anxiety, depressive symptoms, COVID-19-related variables, self-reported adherent safety behavior (ASB), and dysfunctional safety behavior (DSB). PwCF showed equal amounts of distress (W = 2481.0, p = 0.669), depressive symptoms (W = 2632.5, p = 0.268), and generalized anxiety symptoms (W = 2515.5, p = 0.565) compared to the HC. COVID-19-related fear (W = 1872.0, p = 0.028), ASB (W = 1630.0, p = 0.001), and DSB (W = 1498.5, p < 0.001) were significantly elevated in pwCF. The pwCF estimated that the probability of suffering from symptoms (W = 954.5, p < 0.001), experiencing a severe course (W = 806.5, p < 0.001), or dying (W = 1079.0, p < 0.001) from COVID-19 is significantly higher than that of the HC. ASB was associated with a CF diagnosis, COVID-19-related fear, and a subjective level of information (R2 = 0.414, F(13, 124) = 6.936, p ≤ 0.001). DSB was associated with a diagnosis of CF and COVID-19-related fear (R2 = 0.196, F(13, 124) = 3.169, p ≤ 0.001). The data suggest that pwCF show functional and adequate behaviors towards the risk caused by the pandemic. Therefore, functional coping behaviors may provide advantages in addressing pandemic challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Governmental restrictions of daily life are key elements in reducing the transmission of COVID-19, but they have also put a strain on people's mental health. Preventive policies differ all over the world as well as over different periods of time, and depend mostly on current infection rates. In Germany, there were two periods of restraint of varying severity, during which the government used different combinations of containment and mitigation measures to protect risk groups and to lower the number of hospitalizations. Methods In two online studies, we aimed to determine differences and similarities in COVID-19-related fear, generalized anxiety, depression and distress levels, as well as in the adherence to safety behaviour between the first lockdown in March and April and the second lockdown in November. Results This study showed continued high psychological burden and even increased levels of depression symptoms, as well as less safety behaviour in the second phase of restrictions. Conclusions The results hint at a prolonged negative impact on people's mental health and their safety behaviour despite lesser restrictions in the second lockdown, which may be interpreted as pandemic fatigue and hence strengthens the argument for a low-threshold access to psychological care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses immense challenges for health care systems and population-wide mental health. The e-mental health intervention "CoPE It" has been developed to offer standardized and manualized support to overcome psychological distress caused by the pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of "CoPE It" in terms of reducing distress (primary outcome), depression and anxiety symptoms, and improving self-efficacy, and mindfulness (secondary outcomes). Furthermore, the intervention's usability, feasibility, and participants' satisfaction with "CoPE It" was evaluated (tertiary outcome). The study protocol has been published previously. Methods: A bicentre longitudinal study was conducted from April 27th 2020 to May 3rd 2021. N = 110 participants were included in the analyses. The intervention consisted of four modules featuring different media promoting evidence-based methods of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Difference in psychological distress between baseline (T0) and post-intervention (T1) were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of covariance. Mixed linear models were applied to assess moderating effects. Depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety symptoms, self-efficacy, and mindfulness were compared between baseline (T0) and post-intervention (T1) via t -tests. Usability of the "CoPE It" intervention and participants' satisfaction was evaluated by calculation means and frequencies. Results: Primary outcome : A significant effect of time on psychological distress at post-intervention (T1) after controlling for age, gender, education, mental illness and attitudes toward online interventions was found. Depressive and anxiety symptoms, and mindfulness were a significant moderators of the relationship between time and psychological distress for consistent wording. Secondary outcomes: There was a significant decrease in depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety, and a significant increase in self-efficacy and mindfulness between baseline (T0) and post-intervention (T1). Tertiary outcomes: 95.83% of the participants thought the "CoPE It" intervention was easy to use and 87.50% were satisfied with the "CoPE It" intervention in an overall, general sense. Conclusion: The e-mental health "CoPE It" intervention seems to be an effective approach in reducing psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and in enhancing self-efficacy and mindfulness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants' satisfaction and the program's feasibility, and usability were proven to be high. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: DRKS00021301. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy; Multifocal motor neuropathy; Anxiety; Mental health; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 EN Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy Multifocal motor neuropathy Anxiety Mental health COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 1453 1455 3 08/02/22 20220901 NES 220901 Eva-Maria Skoda and Mark Stettner share senior authorship. The study assessed the mental health burden of patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) - the most common forms of chronic immune-mediated neuropathies - in comparison to propensity score-matched healthy controls during the COVID-19 pandemic [[1]]. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: Although many research studies concerning changes in personality and behavior in time of COVID-19 pandemic emerged, important questions still have not been answered. This study with a large sample aimed to give insights into the impact of personality on pandemic fear and behavior by investigating the Big Five traits, COVID-19-fear, and associated behavioral changes in a large German-speaking sample. Methods: About 14,048 healthy respondents (65.5% female, 34.2% male, and 0.32% other gender/gender queer; range = 18–85 years, median age 35–44 years) participated in the survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two scales, "adherent" safety behavior (ASB, α = 0.857) and "dysfunctional" safety behavior (DSB, α = 0.876), three items each, measured pandemic-associated behavior. The Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) tested personality traits. Results: While ASB correlated negatively with extraversion (rho = −0.053, ≤ 0.001), the other four traits were positively associated, with the highest association for neuroticism (rho = 0.116, ≤ 0.001), whereas neuroticism showed a positive correlation (rho = 0.142, ≤ 0.001) with DSB, extraversion (rho = −0.042, ≤ 0.001), agreeableness (rho = −0.028, ≤ 0.001), and conscientiousness (rho = −0.025, ≤ 0.001) correlated negatively with it. Regression analyses showed a small extent of the effect of personality traits. Moreover, neuroticism mediated the association between COVID-19-fear and DSB (positive-directed). Conclusions: Even though our results on correlations between personality, pandemic fear, and related behavior are in line with the existing literature studies, the analyses clearly show that the impact of personality traits, including neuroticism, on pandemic behavior is very small. Rather, pandemic fear has a much larger influence on the safety behavior mediated through neuroticism. Further studies should bear in mind that personality traits can not only have influencing effects but also mediating effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals, governments, and health care centers all around the globe. Social isolation obligation, restricted working shifts, and curfews posed unprecedented challenges for the population. Social isolation, boredom, and financial problems have been shown to stress peoples' mental health in previous comparable pandemics and even in regular situations. Individuals with a mental illness may particularly be at risk due to an already instable mental health status. While research mainly focused on the pandemic's impact on somatic health care and risk group patients, psychological obstacles caused by legal restrictions and their impact on already mentally affected individuals have been discussed, but so far only scarcely been investigated in a large sample. For this study, 12,028 people completed an online-survey during that time in Germany, when the COVID-19 outbreak gained momentum with a surge in cases and death rates as well as a lockdown of the public life. Generalized anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-2), distress (distress thermometer) and COVID-19-specific items, especially COVID-19-related fear, were assessed in healthy individuals, patients suffering from mental illnesses, and in patients with chronic somatic diseases, known to be at risk for an unfavorable course of COVID-19. Results show that the COVID-19-pandemic significantly worsens psychometric scores throughout the population – individuals with already heightened levels, like people with mental illnesses now reach concerning levels. Surprisingly, even though generalized anxiety, depressive symptoms, and perceived distress are elevated in individuals with mental illness, these individuals seem to be less affected by explicit COVID-19-related fear, than the general population or individuals with chronic somatic diseases. This study thus objectively quantifies the psychological impact of COVID-19 in a large sample and provides evidence for not only the public, but also critically affected individuals with a mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Healthcare professionals (HPs) are the key figures to keep up the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic and thus are one of the most vulnerable groups in this. To this point, the extent of this psychological burden, especially in Europe and Germany, remains unclear. This is the first study investigating German HPs after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods We performed an online-based cross-sectional study after the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany (10–31 March 2020). In total, 2224 HPs (physicians n  = 492, nursing staff n  = 1511, paramedics n  = 221) and 10 639 non-healthcare professionals (nHPs) were assessed including generalized anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), current health status (EQ-5D-3L), COVID-19-related fear, subjective level of information regarding COVID-19. Results HPs showed less generalized anxiety, depression and COVID-19-related fear and higher health status and subjective level of information regarding COVID-19 than the nHPs. Within the HP groups, nursing staff were the most psychologically burdened. Subjective levels of information regarding COVID-19 correlated negatively with generalized anxiety levels across all groups. Among HPs, nursing staff showed the highest and paramedics the lowest generalized anxiety levels. Conclusions In the context of COVID-19, German HPs seem to be less psychological burdened than nHPs, and also less burdened compared with existing international data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Since the first cases of the novel coronavirus disease SARS-CoV-2 were reported in December 2019 in China, the virus has spread in most countries. The aim of the present study was to assess initial data on the mental health burden of the German public during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Germany and collected complete datasets from 15 704 German residents aged 18 years and over. Besides demographics, generalized anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-2) and psychological distress (DT) were assessed. Furthermore, COVID-19-related fear, trust in governmental actions to face COVID-19 and the subjective level of information regarding COVID-19 were covered. Results Significantly increased symptoms were highly prevalent in all dimensions: generalized anxiety (44.9%), depression (14.3%), psychological distress (65.2%) and COVID-19-related fear (59%). Females and younger people reported higher mental burden. Trust in governmental actions to face COVID-19 and the subjective level of information regarding COVID-19 are negatively associated with mental health burden. However, the subjective level of information regarding COVID-19 is positively associated with increased COVID-19-related fear. Conclusions The provision of appropriate psychological interventions for those in need and the provision of transparency and comprehensible information are crucial during the current pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more than a year of pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) remains a relevant health care and society issue. Movements doubting the dangerousness or the existence of the virus have emerged and became a challenge to social cohesion. About 3487 individuals (434 Corona doubters and 3053 non-doubters) have participated in an online survey (predominat age group: 35–45 years). Particularly, COVID-19-related anxiety, generalized anxiety (Generalizied Anxiety Disorder Screener, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-2) and functional/adherent safety behaviour were assessed. COVID-19 doubters describe less functional safety behaviour. Fear of the virus is evident, similar to non-doubters. Generalized anxiety and depression were significantly higher in doubters. Repression and denial as psychological defence mechanisms could be the unconscious psychological strategy for coping with the distress variables. The results point out that public strategies may only be successful in managing opinions and beliefs if they address fears and worries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to assess cancer patients' psychological burden during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating distress (distress-thermometer), health status (EQ-5D-3L), general anxiety (GAD-7), COVID-19-related fear and associated behavioral changes and comparing these to matched healthy controls, using propensity score matching (PSM). Methods: During the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, March 16 to 30, 2020, 150 actually treated cancer patients and 150 matched healthy controls participated in this study. Participants completed an anonymous online survey assessing health status, distress, general anxiety, COVID-19-related fear and behavioral changes (i.e., adherent safety behavior and dysfunctional safety behavior). Results: Cancer patients showed no elevated level of distress, U = 10,657.5, p = 0.428, general anxiety U = 10,015.5, p = 0.099, or COVID-19-related fear compared to healthy controls, U = 10,948, p = 0.680. Both groups showed elevated COVID-19-related fear. Cancer patients reported more adherent safety behavior, such as washing hands more often or avoiding public places, U = 8,285, p < 0.001, d = 0.468. They also reported more dysfunctional safety behavior such as buying larger quantities of basic food, compared to healthy controls U = 9,599, p = 0.029, d = 0.256. Adherent safety behavior could be significantly explained by cancer diagnosis, increased COVID-19-related fear and subjective level of information about COVID-19, R 2 = 0.215, F (3) = 27.026, p < 0.001. Conclusion: This suggests that cancer patients are more likely to utilize adherent safety behavior. Cancer patients reported comparable levels of distress and anxiety compared to healthy controls. Still, the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with elevated COVID-19-related fear. Therefore, specific interventions are needed to prevent anxiety and improve mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At a time of growing governmental restrictions and 'physical distancing' in order to decelerate the spread of COVID-19, psychological challenges are increasing. Social media plays an important role in maintaining social contact as well as exerting political influence. World leaders use it not only to keep citizens informed but also to boost morale and manage people's fears. However, some leaders do not follow this approach; an example is the German Chancellor. In a large online survey, we aimed to determine levels of COVID-19 fear, generalized anxiety, depression, safety behaviour, trust in government and risk perception in Germany. A total of 12 244 respondents participated during the period of restraint and the public shutdown in March 2020. Concurrent with the German Chancellor's speech, a reduction of anxiety and depression was noticeable in the German population. It appears that, in addition to using social media platforms like Twitter, different—and sometimes more conservative—channels for providing information can also be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) The aim of the study is to assess the psychological burden of individuals with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to matched controls. (2) Over the course of eight weeks, 9 April to 3 June 2020, 253 individuals with diabetes and 253 matched controls, using Propensity Score Matching (PSM), participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed an anonymous survey including demographics, depressive symptoms (PHQ-2), generalized anxiety (GAD-7), COVID-19-related fear, risk perception, and safety behavior. (3) While patients with diabetes expected their risk of infection similar to controls, they reported a higher probability of the occurrence of symptoms, severe course, and dying of COVID-19. Patients with diabetes showed no elevated generalized anxiety or depressive symptoms. However, they reported higher COVID-19-related fear and more adherent and dysfunctional safety behavior compared to controls. (4) From a public health view, it seems encouraging that despite the somatic risk condition, generalized anxiety and depression are not higher in patients with diabetes than in controls. Patients with diabetes report higher COVID-19-related fear, increased risk perception, and behavioral changes. This suggests that individuals with diabetes, as a significant risk group of severe COVID-19, show an adequate perception and functional reaction to the current pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic impacts the whole world. So far, nothing is known about the course of psychological disturbances, such as fear, anxiety, and sleep disturbances of this pandemic over time in Europe.Methods: Aim of this web-based survey was to assess the mental health burden of the German public over a period of 50 days after the COVID-19 outbreak. 16,245 individuals responded regarding sleep disturbances, COVID-19-fear, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-7). Data were put in relation to infection rates, number of deaths and the German stock index.Results: The specific fear increased rapidly in concordance with infection numbers. However, no relation to the number of deaths was found, COVID-19-fear developed reversed to the stock index. Initially, 13.5% of the respondents reported a reduced sleep quality, and 7.2% a moderate generalized anxiety; proceeding simultaneously with high peaks. Finally, more than twice as many respondents showed psychological burdens.Conclusion: The COVID-19-fear decreased within six weeks to the level before the shutdown, indicating a habituation to the threatening situation. However, generalized anxiety remained elevated over time. Sleep disturbances, generalized anxiety as well as economical stock alterations develop in advance to infectiological trends which demands consequent and comprehensible information policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]