1. Mental Health Impact in Latin American Pediatric Rheumatologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Author
-
Kozu KT, Casella CB, Strabelli CAA, Aikawa NE, Campos LMA, Elias AM, Miguel EC, Polanczyk GV, and Silva CA
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Anxiety diagnosis, Anxiety epidemiology, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression diagnosis, Depression epidemiology, Health Personnel psychology, Humans, Latin America epidemiology, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Pandemics, Rheumatologists, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19
- Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess mental health in Latin American pediatric rheumatologists (LAPRs) during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed with 318 LAPRs based on an online, self-rated survey about clinical practice/mental health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Validated self-reported scales for anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7]) and depression (Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]) were evaluated., Results: The response rate was 126 of 318 (40%), including 13 of 20 (65%) Latin American countries. Working on the COVID-19 frontline was reported by 27% of LAPRs. Anxiety and moderate/severe depression were observed in 49% and 25%, respectively. No LAPRs reported previous mental health disorders. Deaths of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus and juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 were reported by 8% and 2% of LAPRs, respectively. Further analysis of LAPRs revealed that the median current age was significantly lower in LAPRs with anxiety than in those without anxiety (39 [29-43] vs 45 [30-70] years, p = 0.029). Working on the frontline of COVID-19 (37% vs 17%, p = 0.015), feeling helpless (39% vs 17%, p = 0.009), and experiencing burnout (39% vs 11%, p = 0.0001) were factors significantly higher in LAPRs with anxiety. Median nighttime sleep abnormalities measured by the visual analog scale (VAS) (8 [0-10] vs 4 [0-10], p = 0.009) were significantly higher in the anxiety group, whereas the physical activity VAS was lower (0.5 [0-10] vs 3 [0-10], p = 0.005). A positive Spearman correlation was shown between the GAD-7 score and nighttime sleep abnormality VAS score (r = +0.348, p < 0.001), and a negative correlation was shown between the GAD-7score and physical activity VAS score (r = -0.192, p = 0.031)., Conclusions: Anxiety and depression were relevant to the experience of LAPRs during the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting their mental health. Reporting information about mental health is essential to planning future preventive and health promotion strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF