Relationship between Social Support and Mental Health of Novice Nurses during Coronavirus Epidemic

Abstract Background: Coronavirus has created a confusing and stressful situation around the world. In these circumstances, health care workers are most prone to vulnerability. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and mental health of novice nurses during the outbreak of COVID-19 to provide basic information for intervention measures. Study design: cross-sectional study Methods: This study was performed in spring of 2020 in hospital affiliated with Ilam University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using general information questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Phillip’s Social Support Questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software, as well as descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The total score of GHQ and social support was 24.58±12.063 and 70.77±9.761, respectively. There was a statistically significant inverse relationship between social support and mental health of participants. Among the demographic variables, there was a significant correlation between work experience, hospital, direct contact with COVID-19 patients and the number of working days in coronavirus ward with mental health and social support. Conclusion: The findings of the present study add to our knowledge obtained from previous studies by discovering the impact of social support on mental health of health care providers with special attention to novice nurses at the forefront. Ongoing monitoring of psychological consequences associated with COVID-19 outbreak and social support of them require further attention

Infections, inflammation, and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders: the neglected role of �co-infection�

Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) have multiple etiological factors, mainly genetic background, environmental conditions and immunological factors. The host immune responses play a pivotal role in various physiological and pathophysiological process. In NPDs, inflammatory immune responses have shown to be involved in diseases severity and treatment outcome. Inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are involved in various neurobiological pathways, such as GABAergic signaling and neurotransmitter synthesis. Infectious agents are among the major amplifier of inflammatory reactions, hence, have an indirect role in the pathogenesis of NPDs. As such, some infections directly affect the central nervous system (CNS) and alter the genes that involved in neurobiological pathways and NPDs. Interestingly, the most of infectious agents that involved in NPDs (e.g., Toxoplasma gondii, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus) is latent (asymptomatic) and co-or-multiple infection of them are common. Nonetheless, the role of co-or-multiple infection in the pathogenesis of NPDs has not deeply investigated. Evidences indicate that co-or-multiple infection synergically augment the level of inflammatory reactions and have more severe outcomes than single infection. Hence, it is plausible that co-or-multiple infections can increase the risk and/or pathogenesis of NPDs. Further understanding about the role of co-or-multiple infections can offer new insights about the etiology, treatment and prevention of NPDs. Likewise, therapy based on anti-infective and anti-inflammatory agents could be a promising therapeutic option as an adjuvant for treatment of NPDs. © 2020 Infection; Inflammation; Neuropsychiatric disorders; Co-infection; Immunology; Microbiology; Infectious disease; Psychiatry. © 202

Transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2 infection: review of evidence

There is no specific treatment for SARS-CoV-2, and all infection control strategies are based on breaking the transmission chain of virus. The high transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 has raised many questions about the possible routes of infection transmission. Due to uncertainty of the main transmission routes, the infection control policies faced with more challenges. The possible main route of transmission is thought to be the close contact and respiratory droplets. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain physical distance and using the face mask. Another routes of transmission are through contaminated surfaces as well as airborne, fecal-oral transmission

Host factors and vaccine efficacy: Implications for COVID-19 vaccines

The efficacy of the vaccines varies between individuals and populations. The immunogenicity of the vaccine is influenced by various factors, including host factors. Previous studies have shown that host factors affect the effectiveness of vaccines, which may be true about COVID-19 vaccines. In this review, we evaluate the possible association of host factors with vaccine efficacy with a special focus on COVID-19 vaccines

Maternal COVID-19 infection and the fetus: Immunological and neurological perspectives

Immunoneuropsychiatry is an emerging field about the interaction between the immune and nervous systems. Infection and infection-related inflammation (in addition to genetics and environmental factors) can act as the etiopathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs). Exposure to COVID-19 in utero may be a risk factor for developing NPDs in offspring in the future. Maternal immune activation (MIA) and subsequent inflammation can affect fetal brain development. Inflammatory mediators, cytokines, and autoantibodies can pass through the placenta and the compromised blood-brain barrier after MIA, leading to neuroinflammation. Neuroinflammation also affects multiple neurobiological pathways; for example, it decreases the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin.Fetal sex may affect the mother's immune response. Pregnant women with male fetuses have been reported to have decreased maternal and placental humoral responses. This suggests that in pregnancies with a male fetus, fewer antibodies may be transferred to the fetus and contribute to males' increased susceptibility/vulnerability to infectious diseases compared to female infants.Here, we want to discuss maternal COVID-19 infection and its consequences for the fetus, particularly the neurological outcomes and the interaction between fetal sex and possible changes in maternal immune responses

COVID-19 reinfection: prolonged shedding or true reinfection?

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is underway and millions of people have been infected. A large number of patients with COVID-19 have recovered and been discharged. While a number of recovered patients test positive again or even have a recurrence of clinical symptoms. Some researchers believe that a positive retest is related to the long-term persistence of the virus in the body, although there is some evidence in favor of reinfection. In this study, we focus more on the possible reasons for positive retesting, antibody responses, and review of possible reinfection case reports

An update review on complicated mechanisms of COVID-19 pathogenesis and therapy: direct viral damage, renin-angiotensin system dysregulation, immune system derangements, and endothelial dysfunction

SARS-CoV-2 was reported as the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late December 2019. The new virus belongs to the Coronaviridae family and the Betacoronavirus genus, according to sequencing and phylogenetic studies. Genomic sequence analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2 is similar to SARS. SARS-CoV-2 is more infectious and the high level of COVID-19 community transmission has led to a growing pandemic. Although infections in most patients with COVID-19 are moderate or mild, 20 of the patients develop severe or critical disease. COVID- 19 may affect a wide range of organs and tissues, including respiratory, digestive system, nervous system, and skin. Patients with COVID-10 have been confirmed to have renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and nervous system problems in addition to pulmonary involvement. The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 is being investigated, but it is possible that the organ damage might in part be caused by direct viral damage (detection of inclusion bodies in tissues, such as the kidneys), dysregulation of the immune system, renin-angiotensin system, bradykinin pathway, and coagulation, as well as host genetic factors and their polymorphisms, which may affect the disease severity. In this review, an update on the possible pathogenesis pathways of COVID-19 has been performed. It is hoped that best care is developed for patients with COVID- 19 by identifying its pathogenesis pathways

Claims and reasons about mild COVID-19 in children

The elderly form the main risk group in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and age is recognized as a major risk factor for the severity of infection and mortality of COVID-19. The severity of the infection in children is milder than in adults. Although the pathophysiology of COVID-19 is not fully understood, several possible factors and mechanisms have been suggested for the lower severity of infection in children. (c) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd