Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries

The COVID-19 pandemics caused an unprecedented mortality, distress, and globally poses a challenge to mental resilience. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aimed to investigate the psychological distress among the adult general population across 13 countries. This cross-sectional study was conducted through online survey by recruiting 7091 respondents. Psychological distress was evaluated with COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). The crude prevalence of psychological distress due to COVID-19 is highest in Vietnam, followed by Egypt, and Bangladesh. Through Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis, the respondents from Vietnam holds the highest level of distress, while the respondents from Sri Lanka holds the lowest level of distress with reference to Nepal.Female respondents had higher odds of having reported psychological distress, and those with tertiary education were less likely to report psychological distress compared to those with lower level of education. The findings indicate that psychological distress is varies across different countries. Therefore, different countries should continue the surveillance on psychological consequences through the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the burden and to prepare for the targeted mental health support interventions according to the need. The coping strategies and social support should be provided especially to the lower educational attainment group

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Impact of COVID-19 on Cardiovascular Testing in the United States Versus the Rest of the World

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-U.S. institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection