Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Sep 2022)

Psychopathological Symptoms Among Chronically Ill Patients During SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Poland

  • Pawłowski M,
  • Fila-Witecka K,
  • Rymaszewska JE,
  • Kamińska D,
  • Poznański P,
  • Augustyniak-Bartosik H,
  • Zielińska D,
  • Krajewska M,
  • Krajewski PK,
  • Stefaniak A,
  • Szepietowski JC,
  • Pokryszko-Dragan A,
  • Chojdak-Łukasiewicz J,
  • Budrewicz S,
  • Pawłowski T,
  • Szcześniak D,
  • Rymaszewska J

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 2659 – 2669

Abstract

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Marcin Pawłowski,1 Karolina Fila-Witecka,1 Julia Ewa Rymaszewska,1 Dorota Kamińska,2 Paweł Poznański,2 Hanna Augustyniak-Bartosik,2 Dorota Zielińska,2 Magdalena Krajewska,2 Piotr K Krajewski,3 Aleksandra Stefaniak,3 Jacek C Szepietowski,3 Anna Pokryszko-Dragan,4 Justyna Chojdak-Łukasiewicz,4 Sławomir Budrewicz,4 Tomasz Pawłowski,1 Dorota Szcześniak,1 Joanna Rymaszewska1 1Psychiatry Department, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 2Nephrology and Transplantology Department, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 3Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland; 4Department of Neurology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, PolandCorrespondence: Marcin Pawłowski, Email [email protected]: The global severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic had a drastic psychological and economic impact on the global population. Having a chronic disease during the pandemic is associated with numerous limitations and challenges like regular hospital visits, access to health-care units and getting specialized treatment. In addition, chronically ill patients are at great risk of acquiring the SARS-CoV-2 virus and at experiencing a more severe course of illness, due to comorbid conditions as well as more frequent encounters with health-care workers and other patients in medical facilities. The aim of this study was to examine the psychological disturbances, during the pandemic in chronically ill patients.Methods: During the cross-sectional survey conducted between May and October 2020, 398 patients with four different chronic conditions (psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and patients who have undergone a kidney transplant or received dialysis). Study sample was examined regarding the occurrence of psychopathological symptoms (General Health Questionnaire 28) and their perceived stress levels (Perceived Stress Scale).Results: The highest scores were found in the MS group and the lowest scores were found in the kidney transplantation group in every subscale of the GHQ-28. Close to half of the studied population (48.74%, n = 193) patients scored above the cut-off for psychopathology.Conclusion: As the study was conducted during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Poland, it stands to reason that the pandemic affected the psychological wellbeing of chronically ill patients. A COVID-19 infection, being quarantined and having had contact with a person who was infected, did not significantly affect the outcome measures; however, further research is needed to explore this topic.Keywords: pandemic, SARS-CoV 2, chronic kidney disease, psychopathology, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis

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