The impact of inflammatory response on psychological status of medical staff during COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Psicologia, reflexão e crítica Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 3 - 8
• Main Authors: Wang, Dong, Li, Haijin, Liu, Yansong, Li, Hong, Liu, Yangyang, Hou, Lijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 06.01.2025; Springer Nature B.V; Curso de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological Psychology; Biomarkers; COVID-19; Developmental Psychology; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Health Psychology; Hospitals; Inflammation; Inflammatory parameters; Marital status; Medical personnel; Medical research; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Meta-analysis; Nervous system; Pandemics; Pathogenesis; PHYSICS, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; Psychological Methods/Evaluation; Psychological status; Psychology; Psychology Research; Psychometrics; Psychopathology; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; SCL-90; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Statistical analysis; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; China; COVID-19; Inflammatory parameters; Psychological status; Psychopathology; SCL-90
• ISSN: 1678-7153; 0102-7972; 1678-7153
• DOI: 10.1186/s41155-024-00335-w

Background Limited research has been conducted on the relationship between inflammatory markers and psychological status in medical staff fighting COVID-19. Objective This article examines the psychological and inflammatory conditions of medical personnel working on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19. Methods: A total of 102 clinical staff members were included in this study. All subjects received the Symptom Checklist-90 questionnaire (SCL-90) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian questionnaires for assessing different mental symptoms. The levels of various inflammatory markers, including IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a, and IFN-γ, along with GDNF, were evaluated. Results Spearman correlation analysis showed that the levels of IL-6 were positively associated with the anxiety score ( Spearman’s rho  = .230, p  = .021), obsessive–compulsive symptoms ( Spearman’s rho  = .201, p  = .042). The levels of IL-8 were negatively associated with the anxiety score ( Spearman’s rho  = -.223, p  = .028), obsessive–compulsive symptoms (Spearman’s rho = -.252, p  = .012), hyperarousal ( Spearman’s rho  = -.221, p  = .028). The levels of TNF-α were positively associated with the anxiety score ( Spearman’s rho  = .201, p  = .045), obsessive–compulsive symptoms ( Spearman’s rho  = .222, p  = .035). Conclusion Generally, our results suggested that IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α might play a role in the development of psychological symptoms among medical staff.