Hematological and immunological effects of stress of air traffic controllers in northeastern Brazil

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that stress and emotional reactions can affect immune responses in animals and humans. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate hematological and immunological effects of stress on air traffic controllers. METHODS: Thirty air traffic controllers and 15 aeronautical information service operators were evaluated. The groups were divided as information service operators with 10 years or more of experience (AIS>10) and with less than 10 years in the profession (AIS<10) and air traffic controllers with 10 years or more of experience (ATCo>10) and with less than 10 years in the profession (ATCo<10). Blood samples were drawn at 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The paired t-test was used to compare monocyte and nitric oxide concentrations and ANOVA was used for the other parameters. RESULTS: The ATCo>10 group presented a significantly lower phagocytosis rate of monocytes at 2:00 p.m. compared to 8:00 a.m. Moreover, the ATCo>10 group presented lower hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, platelet and leukocyte levels, and increased cortisol concentrations at 8:00 a.m. compared to the other groups. Additionally, this group had lower phagocytosis rate of monocytes, and hemoglobin, platelet, leukocyte, basophils and nitric oxide levels at 2:00 p.m. compared to the other groups. CONCLUSION: Stress seems to greatly affect immune responses of air traffic controllers with more than ten years of experience

Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions to general hospital psychiatric wards in Italy: Reduced psychiatric hospitalizations and increased suicidality

Aims: The present investigation aimed at evaluating differences in psychiatric hospitalizations in Italy during and after the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Methods: We obtained and analyzed anonymized data on psychiatric admissions (n = 4550) from 12 general hospital psychiatric wards (GHPWs) in different Italian regions (catchment area = 3.71 millions of inhabitants). Using a mixed-effects Poisson regression model, we compared admission characteristics across three periods: (a) March 1-June 30, 2018 and 2019; (b) March 1-April 30, 2020 (i.e., lockdown); and (c) May 1-June 30, 2020 (i.e., post-lockdown). Results: During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was a 41% reduction (IRR = 0.59; p 65 years) was observed in the lockdown (40%; IRR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.44-0.82) and post-lockdown (28%; IRR = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.54-0.96) periods. Long-stay admissions (>14 days) increased (63%; IRR = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.32-2.02) during the lockdown and decreased by 39% thereafter (IRR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.49-0.75). A significant 35% increase in patients reporting suicidal ideation was observed in the post-lockdown period, compared to the rate observed in the 2018 and 2019 control period (IRR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.01-1.79). Conclusion: The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with changes in the number of psychiatric admissions, particularly for older patients and long-stay hospitalizations. Increased admission of patients reporting suicidal ideation in the post-lockdown period merits special attention. Further studies are required to gain insight into the observed phenomena