Mental health in pre-COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative study using symptom checklist-90-R

Y. Guzelhan

Department of Psychiatry, Istanbul Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. drguzelhan@gmail.com

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• Infectious Diseases
• Psychiatry

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to search the psychopathological effects of the Coronavirus disease on the patients with psychiatric symptoms on the COVID-19 pandemic process.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was designed according to the data obtained from 323 patients (171 women and 152 men) who participated in the study pre-COVID-19 period and 423 patients (205 women and 218 men) who participated in the study during COVID-19 period. All participants underwent the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) examination. The SCL-90-R is a psychiatric screening tool that measures the level of reactions elicited by the compulsion or negative stress of individuals. The SCL-90-R was utilized to define psychiatric symptoms and evaluate psychological problems, statistically compared to patient groups with similar demographic and sociocultural characteristics (education level, marital status).

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in participants’ characteristics for the mean age distribution, marital status, education level, and smoking habits between the groups of pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 period (p>0.05). When comparing the scores of the participants’ SCL-90-R Psychological Symptom Screening Scale and its sub-dimensions before and during the COVID-19 period, no statistically significant difference was found between the scores of the participants in both groups (p>0.05). 187 patients (52.97%) had the disease, and 166 patients (47.03%) did not have the disease during COVID-19 period. It was observed that there was statistically significant difference for obsessive-compulsive and depression scores of the SCL-90-R scale between the participants who had or had not COVID-19 (p<0.05). It was higher in the first group. There was a statistically significant difference between the depression, anxiety and phobic anxiety scores of the vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated participants (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Psychological symptoms general and subscales during the COVID-19 pandemic were similar to pre-pandemic levels according to the SCL-90-R. This is important for planning mental health provisions and for long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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