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New onset of mental disorders, lifestyle changes, and quality of relationships during COVID-19 in italian population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

D. Caldirola ,
F. Cuniberti ,
S. Daccò ,
A. Defillo ,
S. Lorusso  and
G. Perna
D. Caldirola*
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Humanitas University, Rozzano, Italy Department Of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Albese con Cassano, Italy
F. Cuniberti
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Humanitas University, Rozzano, Italy Department Of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Albese con Cassano, Italy
S. Daccò
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Humanitas University, Rozzano, Italy Department Of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Albese con Cassano, Italy
A. Defillo
Affiliation:
Health Technology, Medibio Limited, Savage, United States of America
S. Lorusso
Affiliation:
Department Of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Albese con Cassano, Italy
G. Perna
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Humanitas University, Rozzano, Italy Department Of Clinical Neurosciences, Villa San Benedetto Menni Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Albese con Cassano, Italy
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing relevant public health and psychosocial consequences.

Objectives

To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, lifestyle and personal relationships in the Italian general population.

Methods

An online survey spread between May and June 2020 to collect socio-demographic, clinical, lifestyle, relationship, and mental health self-reported information. Mental disorder screening was performed by the Patient Health Questionnaire and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5.

Results

Participants were 2003, 1504 of which (75%) completed the entire questionnaire (1157 females, 77%). Among the completers who have not had any mental disorder before (n=524, 35%), 263 (51.7%) met cut-off scores for psychiatric diagnoses on the self-report psychiatric screeners during the pandemic (i.e., Major Depressive Disorder, 11.3%, with death thoughts in approximately half of the cases; Panic Disorder, 1.1%; Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 13%.3, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 13.2%, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 7.3%; Alcohol Abuse, 5.5%). In line with this, 39% of completers complained of insomnia, while 12% and 10% started using anxiolytics and antidepressants, respectively. Approximately 7-8 % of completers started/increased alcohol and/or nicotine consumption, 33% quitted/decreased physical activity, and 40% declared decreased sexual satisfaction. Approximately 21% and 38% declared worsening in relationship with partner and difficulty in child-caring, respectively.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a risk factor for new onset of mental disorders and worsening in lifestyle and familial relationships in the Italian population. These results should be confirmed by clinical interviews, and may represent a starting point for further monitoring of the medium and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

lifestylerelationshipsCOVID-19Mental disorders
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S98
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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