Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 28;19(7):4007. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19074007.
During the 2020 first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, general practitioners (GPs) represented the first line of primary care and were highly exposed to the pandemic risks, with a consequent risk of developing a wide range of mental health symptoms. However, scant data are still available on factors associated with a worse outcome. The aim of the present study was to investigate mental health symptoms in 139 GPs in the aftermath of the first COVID-19 national lockdown in Italy, detecting groups of subjects with different depressive, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptom severity. The impact of the mental health symptoms on quality of life and individual functioning were also evaluated. A cluster analysis identified three groups with mild (44.6%), moderate (35.3%), and severe psychopathological burden (20.1%). Higher symptom severity was related to younger age, fewer years in service as GPs, working in a high incidence area for the pandemic, having a relative at risk of medical complications due to COVID-19, besides more severe global functioning impairment, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. The present findings showed that GPs, forced to perform their professional activity in extremely stressful conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, were at high risk of developing mental health problems and a worse quality of life.
在 2020 年 COVID-19 大流行的第一波期间，全科医生（GP）是初级保健的第一线，他们面临着极高的大流行风险，因此很可能出现各种心理健康症状。然而，目前仍然缺乏与更差结果相关的因素的数据。本研究的目的是在意大利第一次 COVID-19 全国封锁之后，调查 139 名全科医生的心理健康症状，检测具有不同抑郁、焦虑和创伤后应激症状严重程度的受试者群体。还评估了心理健康症状对生活质量和个体功能的影响。聚类分析确定了三组人群，分别为轻度（44.6%）、中度（35.3%）和重度精神病理负担（20.1%）。更高的症状严重程度与更年轻的年龄、作为 GP 的服务年限较短、在大流行高发地区工作、有因 COVID-19 而面临医疗并发症风险的亲属有关，此外还与更严重的整体功能障碍、倦怠和二次创伤性压力有关。本研究结果表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，被迫在极度紧张的条件下开展专业活动的全科医生面临着出现心理健康问题和生活质量下降的高风险。
