The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Obsession and Compulsion Symptoms in Saudi Arabia

The Relationship Between Fear and Anxiety Among Chinese Uninfected Residents During the Pandemic: A Conditional Process Analysis

Background

This study aimed to explore the relationship between residents' COVID-19 fear and anxiety, consider whether this relationship is mediated through obsessions and the moderating role of self-efficacy on this mediating pathway.

Methods

This study used an online questionnaire to obtain and assess fear, obsession, anxiety and self-efficacy in 1589 Chinese COVID-19 uninfected residents. A conditional process model was used to examine the relationships between variables.

Results

Higher levels of fear were positively associated with obsession and anxiety. In addition, obsession was positively associated with anxiety, while self-efficacy attenuated the effect of fear on obsession and further mitigated the indirect effect of fear on anxiety through obsession.

Conclusion

During the COVID-19 outbreak, uninfected residents suffered varying degrees of psychological distress. COVID-19 fear may have an effect on anxiety in COVID survivors through obsession, and self-efficacy as a protective factor for individual mental health partially attenuates the effect of COVID-19 fear on obsession and the indirect effect of fear on anxiety.

Exploring interrelationships of COVID-19 dimensions in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review

Background

COVID-19 affected the world threatening medical, social, economic and community dimensions. Along with the other countries of the world, Saudi Arabia also witnessed critical emergencies leading to serious disaster due mainly to the overcrowding at certain urban residential localities. Nevertheless, the situation handled meticulously not only with measures and combating strategies but also with documentations and researches to build sustainable confrontation systems and lateral programs.

Main body of abstract

This attempt is a consolidation of the academic efforts on COVID-19 in the country aiming to contribute to the knowledge base aiding to future planning on preparedness. An online survey of published academic research from peer reviewed journals were carried out during August-December 2022, using COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia as search criteria. Many areas of concern are assessed in the context which are classified into spread and burden, patient statistics, symptoms and other clinical dimensions, vaccinations and vaccine acceptance/hesitance, psychosocial impact, impact on education, impact on health staff, impact on migration, impact on nutrition, and control measures adopted.

Short conclusions

A consolidation of these research findings explains the scientific academic community alertness in raising up to the emergency pandemic situation, which facilitated strategy and policy formulations by the Government ministries and other governing bodies. These researches are linked to stagewise programmatic efforts to curtail the epidemic as a mode of accomplishments.

Prevalence of post-COVID symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms in patients who have survived COVID-19.

METHODS

The study used an observational cross-sectional design between July and October 2021. The target population was adult patients who had confirmed COVID-19 infection prior to joining the study, OCD symptoms were assessed using the Arabic OCD scale created by Abohendy and colleagues, which included 83 questions covering 12 different domains and was administired online.

RESULTS

A total of 356 patients were included in the analysis. Approximately 9.0% and 1.7% of the patients had a history of psychiatric disease and OCD diagnosis (respectively). The total symptom score was 32.8%. The most frequently reported domains were rumination of ideas (55.5%), re-checking compulsions (37.0%), and slowness (34.0%), while the least frequently reported domains included obsessive impulses (26.3%), obsessive images (26.5%), and religious compulsions (26.8%). Unlike other domains, the purity and cleanliness compulsions scores were significantly higher than the scale reference population. A higher total symptom score was observed in psychiatric patients (p=0.004) and, to a lesser extent, in OCD patients (p=0.250).

CONCLUSION

Overall, OCD symptoms, including cleanliness and fear of disease obsessions, tend to be higher in psychiatric and OCD patients, these findings are valuable for future studies.

Hand Washing: When Ritual Behavior Protects! Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Young People during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a profound impact on the lifestyles and mental health of young people. It has been hypothesized that the focus on hygiene and the fear of contamination/infection during the pandemic may have exacerbated obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms in this population. OC symptoms are widespread in the general population, with varying degrees of intensity. At their most extreme, they manifest in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), which is characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. The present narrative review aimed at evaluating the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and OCD and OC symptoms in young people, especially children and adolescents with and without OCD, focusing on vulnerability and risk factors and the impact of lockdown measures. Of the six studies identified, four examined clinical samples diagnosed with OCD and two looked at community-based adolescent samples. Five of the six studies found that OC symptoms increased during the pandemic. Additionally, vulnerability to anxiety may constitute a risk condition and the lockdown measures and personal stressful life events can constitute potential triggers of OC symptoms, while ongoing treatment for OCD had a protective effect. The results suggest that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, obsessive and compulsive behavior (e.g., hand washing) in young people at the greatest risk should be monitored, and the intervention of mental health services should be maintained. More research is needed in this area.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and family situation of clinically referred children and adolescents in Switzerland: results of a survey among mental health care professionals after 1 year of COVID-19

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being of clinically referred children and adolescents and on their families from the perspective of mental health care professionals in Switzerland during the first year of the pandemic. Psychiatrists and psychologists for children and adolescents participated in an anonymous survey conducted online in April/May 2021. The survey was completed by 454 mental health care professionals, most of them working in outpatient clinics for child and adolescent psychiatry or in independent practices. Most participants indicated an important increase of referrals for depression (86.8% of respondents), anxiety disorders (81.5%), crisis interventions (76.2%), psychosomatic disorders (66.1%), suicidality (63.8%), and behavioral addictions, e.g., excessive gaming (64.6%). In contrast, referrals or treatment demands for disorders such as autism spectrum disorder or psychosis showed no substantial change or a slight decrease, respectively. According to 69% of respondents, patients experienced the highest psychological burden in January/February/March 2021. Family problems very frequently reported by mental health professionals were parents' worries about loneliness/isolation of the child (49%), child's education and academic future (33%), increased media use due to missing options of recreational activities (37.6%), as well as multiple stresses of mothers (36.3%). To conclude, the pandemic has substantially changed the pattern of disorders and the number of clinical referrals of children and adolescents with mental health problems, which has serious consequences for the treatment supply in Switzerland.