Preliminary Data on Gastrointestinal Deficiencies Incidence and the Prevalence of Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among the Medical Workers

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly contagious new β-coronavirus that primarily affects the lungs. Because of its unprecedented spread, in a relatively short interval, it is declared a global pandemic. Binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors, SARS-CoV-2 is easily disseminated through air. Apart from the established clinical panel, individuals exposed to prolonged chronic stress also manifest gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms similar to those exhibited by SARS-CoV-2-infected patients.The present study aims to assess the incidence of GI deficiencies and prevalence of anxiety among healthy medical staff by applying the Visual Analog Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (VAS-IBS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) during this global crisis.We found significant differences on several items of the VAS-IBS: regarding the incidence of diarrhea (p = 0.04), bloating/gases (p = 0.02), and nausea/vomiting (p = 0.01) from the physical spectrum. After stratification based on age of the participants and after we applied Kruskal-Wallis test because of heterogeneity between groups, we noted two situations in which the null hypothesis is rejected: nausea/vomiting in women between 20 and 30 years, and between 30 and 40, and between 40 and 50 years, respectively (p = 0.026/0.029). Anxiety was prevalent among young and middle-class people after the centralization of HAM-A data, where 40.4% of the participants had various forms of anxiety: mild (n = 13; 13.82%), severe (n = 13; 13.82%), and moderate (n = 12; 12.76%).This study demonstrates that VAS-IBS is a reliable tool for assessing the incidence of GI deficiencies, as well as HAM-A for anxiety.