Mental Health in the Covid-19 Pandemic in Inhabitants of Southeastern Mexico

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a variety of mental disorders, the most common among them being increased fear, worry or stress. Several studies have revealed that COVID-19 survivors suffer from psychological and psychiatric sequelae. Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze the effects on mental health that developed among people living in southeastern Mexico who had also survived COVID-19. Methodology: This study inlcuded quantitative study, descriptive study, and cross-sectional study. Non-probability sampling, purposful sampling and data collection using surveys, all of which shared a Cronbach’s alpha internal reliability coefficient of α= .819. Results: The sample consisted of 334 participants ranging in age from 15 to 60 years old, with an average age of 32 years old. A higher level of affectation was found in the female population / among female participants than in the male population / among male participants. This was especially true in two of the three areas that had the highest percentages of affectation (the sleep-related area, the social area, and the emotional area). However, a lower level of affectation was found among male participants tending in the opposite direction. In other words, there was a higher number of men who experienced one of three lowest areas of affectation (the cognitive area, the somatic area and the psychosomatic area). Discussion: Across all these possible areas of affection, it was the sleeprelated area that most affected participants / that participants most affected. The number of participants with sleep-related affectation accounted for nearly half of the total number participants with symptoms of affectation. The fact that men displayed a lower percentage of affection in general (11% of men versus 18% of women) also supports the original hypothesis stated at the start of this thesis. Nevertheless, in certain areas, men did have a higher level of affectation than women did, such as in the cognitive area, the somatic area, and the psychosomatic area. Conclusions: The results of this study have shown a higher percentage of affectation in women than in men. Symptoms that were observed in COVID-19 survivors included sleep quality, changes in their interaction with other people, cognitive impairments, lowered mood after the disease, symptoms and indicators of biological origin such as general malaise or the appearance of physical disorders of psychological origin such as headaches.