Huong Pham Thi Thu, Wu Chia-Yi, Lee Ming-Been, Hung Wei-Chieh, Chen I-Ming, Chen Hsi-Chung
School of Nursing, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei 10051, Taiwan.
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 116177, Vietnam.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 21;19(6):3738. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063738.
Background: During the COVID-19 outbreak, patients with mental disorders have faced more negative psychological consequences than the public. For people with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), it is unclear whether research engagement would protect them from the deterioration of their symptoms. The study aimed to examine if chronic depressive patients would have improved resilience and mental distress levels after follow-up interviews during an observation period under COVID-19. Methods: The study was nested within a three-year prospective cohort study. A two-group comparison design was conducted, i.e., the follow-up group with regular research interviews every three months after baseline assessment and the control group with one assessment-only interview. The two groups were compared with demographics, psychosocial, and suicide information. Results: Baseline assessments were not significantly different in sociodemographic variables, suicide risks, mental distress, and resilience between groups. Significant differences were detected in resilient coping and mental distress levels (p < 0.05). The follow-up group (n = 46) experienced a higher level of resilient coping (37% vs. 25%) and lower level of mental distress (47.8% vs. 64.7%) than the control group (n = 68). Conclusions: Findings highlight under universal government strategy against COVID-19, TRD patients receiving regular research follow-ups exhibited better resilience and less mental distress than those without regular support from healthcare providers.
在新冠疫情期间，精神障碍患者面临的负面心理后果比普通大众更多。对于难治性抑郁症（TRD）患者而言，参与研究是否能防止其症状恶化尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨在新冠疫情观察期内，慢性抑郁症患者在接受随访访谈后，其心理韧性和精神痛苦水平是否会有所改善。方法：本研究嵌套于一项为期三年的前瞻性队列研究中。采用两组比较设计，即基线评估后每三个月进行一次定期研究访谈的随访组和仅进行一次评估访谈的对照组。对两组的人口统计学、心理社会和自杀信息进行比较。结果：两组在社会人口学变量、自杀风险、精神痛苦和心理韧性方面的基线评估无显著差异。在适应性应对和精神痛苦水平方面检测到显著差异（p < 0.05）。随访组（n = 46）比对照组（n = 68）表现出更高水平的适应性应对（37% 对 25%）和更低水平的精神痛苦（47.8% 对 64.7%）。结论：研究结果表明，在政府针对新冠疫情的普遍策略下，接受定期研究随访的难治性抑郁症患者比未得到医疗服务提供者定期支持的患者表现出更好的心理韧性和更少的精神痛苦。
