Psychological Impact of the Pandemic on Ambulatory Cardiometabolic Patients Without Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. The CorCOVID Latam Psy Study.

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic's mental health consequences remain unknown.

AIM

To assess the mental health status of ambulatory cardiometabolic patients during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Spanish speaking Latin American countries.

METHODS

Cardiometabolic patients without COVID-19 evidence in 13 Latin American countries answered a survey between June 15th and July 15th, 2020. The Diagnosis Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition was used to identify the presence of major depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

The sample included 4216 patients, 1590 (37.71%; IC95% 36.24-39.19) were considered suffering major depression. Female gender, consuming ≥5 medications day, physical activity <100 minutes weekly, low fruits and vegetables intake, poor treatment adherence, reduced food consumption were independently associated to the presence of major depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The CorCOVID Latam Psy study showed that one-third of the Latin American Spanish speaking population is suffering from major depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak.