Kazlauskas Evaldas, Gelezelyte Odeta, Nomeikaite Auguste, Zelviene Paulina
Center for Psychotraumatology, Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University, M. K. Ciurlionio Str. 29, LT-03100 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Oct 22;9(11):1422. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9111422.
Multiple empirical studies have revealed significant pandemic effects of COVID-19 on mental health in various populations. This study aimed to analyze the incidences of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder (AjD) in national healthcare in 2018-2020 in one of the European countries-Lithuania-and estimate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on PTSD and AjD incidences in 2020. The national healthcare registry was used for estimations of diagnosis of PTSD, AjD, and major depressive disorder (MD). The study revealed that stress-related disorders PTSD and AjD are diagnosed rarely, resulting in a considerable gap between the expected prevalence and incidences of these diagnoses in healthcare in Lithuania. Moreover, a significant decline in mental disorders incidence in healthcare in 2020, in comparison to 2018 and 2019, was found, revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on access to healthcare services and increased barriers for mental disorders treatment. The study indicates that major developments in building up knowledge about the effects of trauma and life stressors on mental health are needed in Lithuania and other countries to increase awareness about stress-related disorders and improve care for trauma survivors, in particular in the context of the pandemics or other large-scale disasters.
多项实证研究表明，新冠疫情对不同人群的心理健康产生了重大影响。本研究旨在分析2018 - 2020年期间欧洲国家立陶宛全国医疗保健系统中创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和适应障碍（AjD）的发病率，并评估2020年新冠疫情对PTSD和AjD发病率的影响。研究使用国家医疗保健登记系统来估算PTSD、AjD和重度抑郁症（MD）的诊断情况。研究发现，与压力相关的疾病PTSD和AjD的诊断很少见，这导致立陶宛医疗保健系统中这些诊断的预期患病率和发病率之间存在相当大的差距。此外，与2018年和2019年相比，2020年医疗保健系统中精神障碍的发病率显著下降，这表明新冠疫情对获得医疗服务产生了负面影响，并增加了精神障碍治疗的障碍。该研究表明，立陶宛和其他国家需要在了解创伤和生活压力源对心理健康影响方面取得重大进展，以提高对与压力相关疾病的认识，并改善对创伤幸存者的护理，特别是在疫情或其他大规模灾难的背景下。
