The Impact of Information About COVID-19 on the Endocrine Stress System and Cognitive Distortions

Autor: Mariel Leclère, Arben Hysenaj, Rina Meha, Bernard Tahirbegolli, Peter Schwarz, Charlotte Steenblock, Lulejete Prekazi, Albane Isufi, Nevzat Shemsedini
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Hormone and Metabolic Research. 55:89-95
ISSN: 1439-4286
0018-5043
DOI: 10.1055/a-1997-0550
Popis: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the major health concerns worldwide affecting not only human physical health but also contributing to the development of many mental disorders including impairment of the cognitive function. It is highly conceivable that elevation of the stress hormones, i.e., glucocorticoids and catecholamines, due to the infection, as well as the presence of psychosocial stressors, such as COVID-19 information, play a critical role in the development of these disorders. In the present study, the potential impact of exposure to COVID-19 information on the cognitive distortion and stress levels was analyzed in a population of 32 first-year medical sciences students using the stress assessment questionnaire (SAQ) and the posttraumatic cognitions inventory (PTCI) surveys. Both surveys demonstrated no acute change in the stress and post-traumatic cognition levels between medical sciences students who were either exposed or not to information about COVID-19. Interestingly, analysis of the stress and cognition points across the first and second measurements of the SAQ categories revealed a significant change in the control group but not in the experimental group. In addition, there was no significant difference among groups when considering the time*group factor. To conclude, we found that exposure to information about COVID-19 did not contribute acutely to cognitive distortion and stress levels among participating students. The previous exposure to COVID-19-related information from media and living during the COVID-19 pandemic era might have enhanced the awareness of the students to the situation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE