The impact of the new COVID-19 coronavirus infection on human mental health

Relevance. Against the background of the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic to an increasing number of countries around the world, people are beginning to experience increased fear, excitement and anxiety. This applies to both the general population and individual groups of citizens, for example, older people, health care providers and people with concomitant health disorders.

Speaking in public health terms used in the context of mental health, the main psychological consequences of the pandemic today are expressed in increased levels of stress and anxiety. At the same time, with the introduction of new anti-epidemic measures and related changes (first of all, quarantine, which affects people's usual activities, daily lifestyle and main sources of livelihood), the prevalence of loneliness, depression, harmful alcohol and drug use, as well as the prevalence of self-harm or suicidal behavior may also increase.

Currently, ensuring uninterrupted access to services for people with developing or existing mental health disorders, along with maintaining the mental health and well-being of health workers at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, is a matter of serious concern in countries and regions that have already been significantly affected by the pandemic, such as the Lombardy region in Italy.

As part of the public health response, WHO is working with its partners to create a set of new materials on mental health and psychosocial support in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The purpose of the study. Assessment of the impact of an outbreak of acute respiratory infection caused by a type of coronavirus on the mental health of three main groups of the population who have been ill, doctors who help patients and the rest of the population who are in strict socially restrictive measures.

Research methods. First of all, the research conducted with the help of modern technologies is of the greatest interest.

The results of the study. Moderate to severe depressive symptoms were detected in 1,6,5%; 28.8% had symptoms of moderate to severe anxiety; 8, 1 % of respondents said that they were experiencing extremely severe stress.

Respondents, persons who have been isolated for 1 4 days or more (n=170), the average score of the alarm scale was 55.4 ± 1 4.3 points, which corresponds to the confident level of anxiety in the subjects. The recorded anxiety correlated with severe stress and negatively affected the quality of sleep and social interaction. Moreover, the level of social interaction was positively adjusted with the quality of sleep, i.e. the less social relationships a person had at a given time, the better his sleep was.

The average score of the anxiety scale was 55.3 ± 1 4.2; Moreover, anxiety was positively correlated with stress and negatively with sleep quality, social support and efficiency.

Also, the study data show the following features - women who have symptoms of ARVI and consider their immunity to be "bad" had higher rates of anxiety and depression. While informing this group about the main manifestations and special preventive measures significantly reduced anxiety and depression.

Due to the speed of development, most of the authors are based on Chinese literary sources, or theoretical models developed in past pandemics. Thus, researchers from Iran (Zandifar and Badrfam) emphasize the role of unpredictability, uncertainty and uncertainty in the severity of the disease, misinformation in the media and social isolation in aggravating the existing stress and increasing the number of mental disorders in the population.

The authors emphasize the need for mandatory participation of psychiatric services during social isolation. The authors of Dong and Bouey emphasize that in countries with high incidence rates, a crisis in psychiatric care is very likely to occur, which could have been avoided by more actively involving this service in the fight against the pandemic. Scientists from Japan (Shigemura et al.), emphasize the economic impact of COVID-1 9 on the well-being of the population and a direct correlation with the increase in the level of fear and panic behavior in this regard, the accumulation and collection of resources in the general population. In the official report of Duan and Zhu, it is indicated that, unlike other countries, China has late included psychological and psychiatric care in the protocols for the treatment and assistance in emergency situations, which led to a faster increase in the incidence of mental disorders and their preservation

Conclusion. Despite the pandemic and a small number of studies, psychiatrists and related specialists have been offering recommendations for the preservation of mental health among the general population, among health workers and vulnerable groups of the population for a short time. Although the quality of evidence in the available literature is relatively low, it still contains numerous valuable observations and suggestions for all specialists working in the field of psychiatry, regardless of whether they are associated with psychiatric or general hospitals or work in society.

As the number of patients affected by this pandemic continues to grow, the psychiatric profession, especially in Asian countries, faces both a problem and an opportunity; the problem of overcoming the numerous barriers and restrictions indicated in the above literature, as well as the possibility of implementing those proposals or recommendations that are feasible at the local or regional level.