Considerations on the mental health impact  of the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19)

Julio  Torales; Marcelo O'Higgins; Carlos Miguel Rios-González; Iván  Barrios; Oscar García-Franco; João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia; Antonio Ventriglio

doi:10.1590/SciELOPreprints.171

##article.authors##

Julio Torales Universidad Nacional de Asunción
Marcelo O'Higgins Universidad Nacional de Asunción
Carlos Miguel Rios-González Instituto Nacional de Salud https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7558-8206
Iván Barrios Universidad Nacional de Asunción
Oscar García-Franco Universidad Nacional de Asunción
João Mauricio Castaldelli-Maia Department of Neuroscience, Medical School, Fundação do ABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Antonio Ventriglio Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.171

Keywords:

Outbreak, Coronavirus, Mental Health, COVID-19

Abstract

The current outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China, has made an impact on the global population. Resources are delivered in order to fight the spreading of the virus; however, the mental health impact of the epidemic must be considered in order to address the overall situation. This outbreak is causing mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, denial, anger and fear. These mental health problems affect the patients and the general population and also have impact on the attention, understanding and decision-making capacity of medical staff , which could hinder the fight against COVID-19, but they could also have a lasting effect on their overall well-being.