Manifestations of psychopathological symptoms in substance abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health and psychological wellbeing of people. Restrictive measures of a medical and social nature, aimed at counteracting the spread of COVID-19, have changed the usual way of life, led to adjustment disorders and mental disorders. The most susceptible category to the influence of the stressful pandemic factor turned out to be people who use psychoactive substances (PAS). According to WHO, since the start of the pandemic, the use of telemedicine and psychological crisis assistance has increased in the provision of mental health services and the treatment of substance dependence. Objective: to assess the level of influence of stress factors on the formation of psychopathological symptoms in patients with substance dependence syndrome during the COVID-19 pandemic, who underwent inpatient treatment at the Altai Regional Narcological Dispensary in 2021-2022. Material and Methods. The study was carried out at the Department of Psychiatry, Medical Psychology and Narcology with the APE course of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Altai State Medical University" of the Ministry of Health of Russia. Examination of patients on the basis of voluntary informed consent for participation was carried out on the basis of the Altai Regional Narcological Dispensary. From the total sample (n=302), two groups were formed: the main group (n=196) - patients aged 20-67 years with diagnosed substance dependence, the control group (n=106) - patients of matched age without diagnosis of a addiction disease. In the main group, the diagnosis “Mental and behavioral disorders due to the alcohol use” prevailed (n=159, 81.1%). Dependence syndrome” (F10.2), less often (n=19, 9.7% and n=18, 9.2%) “Mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of opioids. Dependence syndrome” (F11.2) and “Mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of other psychostimulants.” Dependency syndrome" (F15.2). Clinical and psychological research was carried out using the scales for diagnosing anxiety and depression by A. Beck and the Mississippi scale for post-traumatic stress disorder, civilian version. For a multidimensional assessment of the level of psychopathological symptoms, a questionnaire for the severity of psychopathological symptoms was used - Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) in an adapted version (Tarabrina N.V., 2000). Calculations were made using data processing software packages Microsoft Office Excel 2013, EpiInfo 7.2. Conclusion. The results of the study show that during the pandemic, regardless of the use of PAS and the presence of PAS dependence syndrome in different contingents of the population, there is a susceptibility to infection with coronavirus infection and the manifestation of psychopathological disorders in the form of symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and distress. Further research may be useful in optimizing the quality of treatment and rehabilitation measures provided for patients with substance dependence syndrome.