Pandemic Grief Scale in detection of grief reaction among physicians in COVID-19 era

Background Physicians are considered one of the most vulnerable groups who might develop pandemic grief during this critical time of COVID-19 infection, and this grief reaction might have deleterious effects on their life. This cross-sectional observational online study aimed to investigate the pandemic grief reaction among physicians and its burden on their aspects of life. Results Socio-demographic characteristics of 900 physicians were collected. The Pandemic Grief Scale (PGS) was used to detect the grief reaction among them and also Patient Health Depression Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to evaluate the depressive manifestations. Sheehan Disability Scale was considered to investigate the burden of this grief on different aspects of life. The study revealed high mean score of Pandemic Grief Scale: 11.12 ± 2.34; the mean score of Sheehan Disability Scale was 17.63 ± 5.17, and the mean score of Patient Health Depression Questionnaire-9 was 19.89 ± 4.27. Conclusion Pandemic grief is commonly experienced by the physicians during this COVID-19 era due to sudden loss of loved one or the cases themselves. This pandemic grief has drastic effect on domains of physicians’ life.

Features of the mental response of residents of Kazakhstan who seek psychological help during the COVID-2019 pandemic

The article provides an analysis of international studies dedicated to the identification of mental problems involved among the population of different countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the results of the original study of the symptoms of mental disorders, which citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan sought private psychological help with during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data obtained are compared with the final indicators of similar studies in other regions of the world, claiming that the main requests are caused by anxiety-depressive symptoms. It was revealed that the manifestations of anxiety and fear associated with the threat of contracting a coronavirus infection, characteristic of the initial period of a pandemic, weaken over time, which may be associated with the phenomenon of desensitization and actual infection. Specific factors are noted, such as the peculiarities of the burial during a pandemic, which can be an aggravating factor in the occurrence of a prolonged grief reaction and a complicated grief reaction. Limitation of social contacts, closure of public institutions, and limited labour activities are considered as factors that enhance anxiety-depressive symptoms and complicate therapeutic interventions. Examples of PTSD symptoms are given, where the fact of illness is considered a traumatic event itself. The information published in some media sources about the possibility of re-infection is considered as a trigger that escalates the alarm. Patients with addictions are seen as a vulnerable population group during a massive pandemic.

Sex Differences in the Relationship between PTSD Spectrum Symptoms and Autistic Traits in a Sample of University Students

Background: While growing literature is stressing the link between Autistic Traits (AT) and trauma-/stress-related disorders, in both conditions significant differences have been separately reported. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between AT and trauma-/stress-related symptoms with respect to sex. Methods: 178 university students were assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum (TALS) and the Adult Autism Subthreshold Spectrum (AdAS). In order to evaluate sex differences in trauma-/stress-related symptoms among subjects with higher or lower AT, the sample was split in two groups with an equal number of subjects on the basis of the median score reported on AdAS Spectrum (“AdAS high scorers” and “AdAS low scorers”). Results: Females reported significantly higher TALS total score, Loss events and Grief reaction domain scores than males in the whole sample, while AdAS high scorers reported significantly higher TALS total and domain scores than AdAS low scorers. A significant interaction between high/low AdAS score and sex emerged for TALS domains, with females scoring significantly higher than males only among AdAS low scorers, specifically on Loss events, Grief reaction, Re-experiencing and Personal characteristics/Risk factors domains. Finally, among AdAS high scorers a significantly higher rate of subjects fulfilled symptomatological criteria for PTSD than among AdAS low scorers, without sex differences. Conclusion: Our results confirm a significant relationship between AT and trauma-/stress-related symptoms, which seems to prevail on sex differences among high-risk subjects.