Prevalência de transtornos mentais comuns em profissionais de saúde da macrorregião Norte de Minas Gerais no período de pandemia da COVID-19

Abstract

Common mental disorders (CMD) are characterized by non-psychotic symptoms, including depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, irritability, insomnia, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating and somatic symptoms. It is observed that mental health problems are frequent in health professionals, and during the pandemicperiod there were significant changes in the routine of these professionals that may be associated with CMD symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic had a direct impact on the health of the world's population, with significant changes in the lives of people who had to adapt to the new rules and social habits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the symptoms of CMD in primary health care professionals in the northern macro-region of Minas Gerais during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review and a cross-sectional study were performed. The systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA checklist guidelines. The databases used were the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the services of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) via Pubmed, with the search strategies: “COVID-19” AND "Mental health" / “COVID-19” AND " Mental health " AND "health personnel" / in Portuguese and English, selecting observational and/or prevalence articles published from 2020 onwards. The cross-sectional study was conducted with health professionals from the northern macro-region of Minas Gerais. Sampling was of the snowball type with an online questionnaire via Google Forms®. Dependent variables were assessed using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scales. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyzes were performed using Poisson regression. In the systematic review, it was observed that the mean prevalence of anxiety, depression and insomnia was respectively 42.0%, 41.7% and 38.3%, measured in 8,866 health professionals. The cross-sectional study had the participation of 702 health professionals. The overall prevalence of CMD, assessed by the SRQ-20, was 43.2%. There was a higher prevalence in in those who had previous symptoms of mental disorders (PR=2.42; 95%CI 1.43;4.08) and current (PR=1.54; 95%CI 1. 25;1.89); overwork during the pandemic (PR=1.342; 95%CI 1.16;1.73); previous symptoms of anxiety (PR=1.27; 95%CI 1.01;1.61), depression (PR=1.27; 95%CI 1.06;1.52) and other mental disorders (PR=1.20 ;95%CI 1.01;1.43). The assessment of the GAD-7 resulted in an overall prevalence of anxiety of 32.2%, and in the final model the associated factors identified were: female sex (PR=1.82:95%CI:1.17- 2.84), previous symptoms (PR=1.58; 95%CI= 1.19-2.10) and current (PR=2.68:95%CI:2.00- 3.62) self-reported anxiety. Regarding the systematic review, there was a high prevalence of CMD associated to the female sex, working on the frontline, history of psychotropic use, longer working hours and inadequate working conditions. In the cross-sectional study carried out with PHC professionals from the northern health macro-region of Minas Gerais, a high prevalence of CMD symptoms and anxiety during the pandemic was observed, associated in the multiple analysis, with the female sex (anxiety), previous and current symptoms (CMD and anxiety) and increased workload (CMD). Most participants reported having experienced symptoms of anxiety at some point in their lives. A conclusive technical report was prepared with the research results and guidance on possible mental health interventions for health professionals.