• Brisa Solé, Norma Verdolini, Silvia Amoretti, Laura Montejo, Adriane R Rosa, Bridget Hogg, Clemente Garcia-Rizo, Gisela Mezquida, Miquel Bernardo, Anabel Martinez-Aran, Eduard Vieta, and Carla Torrent.
• Bipolar and Depressive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clinic, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
• J Affect Disord. 2021 Feb 15; 281: 13-23.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to evaluate potential differences about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown between community controls (CC) and patients with a mental illness (MI) in a Spanish population during the state of emergency.MethodsIndividuals with a psychiatric condition and the general population were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. Bivariate analyses were used to compare them in a broad range of measures: sociodemographic, clinical variables, behavioral changes related to the lockdown and coping strategies to face it. Two groups of different psychiatric disorders were compared: depression or anxiety disorders (D+A) versus bipolar disorder and schizophrenia related disorders (BD+SCZ).Results413 CC and 206 MI were included in the study. CC reported to use more adaptive coping strategies as following a routine, talking to friends/relatives, practicing physical exercise and maintaining a balanced diet. MI reported significantly more anxiety and depression symptoms during the lockdown when compared to CC. Gaining weight, sleep changes, and tobacco consumption were more prevalent in the MI group. The D+A group showed significantly more psychological distress and negative expectations about the future, suffered more sleep disturbances when compared to BD+SCZ, whilst reported to practice more exercise.Limitationspsychiatric disorders were self-reported.ConclusionsImposed restrictions and uncertainty during confinement had a higher psychological impact in individuals with a psychiatric illness, with less healthy behavior strategies to face the situation. Developing interventions to mitigate negative mental health outcomes among this vulnerable population will be essential in the coming months.Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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