Saúde mental, abuso de álcool e qualidade do sono: impactos da pandemia por COVID- 19 no Piauí

Abstract

The emergence of COVID-19 was considered a public health emergency of international concern, with a high risk of transmissibility that spread throughout the world, characterizing it as a global pandemic. Its impact included the increase in psychic suffering and mental illness directly caused by the infection and/or its secondary consequences, causing concern about the presentation of anxiety, alcohol abuse and poor sleep quality. Researching how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of people in the Piauí scenario is of great social and academic relevance, given the impact of the pandemic on this population and the knowledge of unprecedented results that can be used to help understand the impacts of the pandemic context on mental health, as well as guide prevention and intervention measures in the public studied in situations of health crises. Thus, this research investigates possible associations between anxiety related to COVID-19, sleep quality, daily habits, mental health and excessive alcohol consumption in residents of the state of Piauí. This is a quantitative, cross-sectional study containing a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 303 people with a mean age of 29 years. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, the following instruments were used: Sociodemographic questionnaire, Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), Morningness and Eveningness Questionnaire self-assessment version (MEQ-AS)1 and the Pittsburgh Sound Quality Index (PSQI). Although female participants have greater mental distress and anxiety levels when compared to the average male, this difference is not [SRQ-20 (t (285) = 4.598; p = 0.00; d = 0.53)], [CAS (t (278) = 2.153; p = 0.32; d = 0.24)]. In the general sample, the data revealed that the sample had intermediate sleep habits (M = 54.19), respectively low levels of dysfunctional anxiety (M = 3.34) and low risk for harmful alcohol consumption (M = 4.13). Mild mental distress was also identified (M = 7.57), of which 34% (F(1,297) = .00) could be explained by a correlation with anxiety in the face of COVID-19 (ρ = .375), sleep quality (ρ = .492) and daily habits (ρ = -.212). It was also identified that poor sleep quality could be explained 31% (F(1,297) = .00) through the correlation with anxiety in the face of COVID-19 (ρ = .300), mental distress (ρ = .375) and alcohol consumption (ρ = .210). This study presented characteristics of a period of flexibility during the pandemic that made it possible to perceive in the sample unique patterns and factors of maintenance of mental health that worked with protection against the impacts of the pandemic in this population, such as activities of maintenance of mental health, schooling, religiosity and social support. In addition to revealing significant data that women were more severely affected and are more likely to develop mental suffering, special attention is also needed to female mental health during times of crisis.