The multiple work, social and day-to-day changes and the concern derived from the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the registered rates of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress throughout Latin America, according to a recent study carried out by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). In addition, they also highlight that the number of cases of violence against women and children has skyrocketed.
The results of the study, which has been published in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas, have revealed that more than 4 out of 10 Brazilians have had anxiety and that 6 out of 10 have felt that they were experiencing depression as a result. of the bread In the case of the data from Peru, symptoms of depression were multiplied by five.
Another country that has drawn attention is Mexico, where almost a third of the population reports symptoms of clinically significant post-traumatic stress. The United States, for its part, has reflected that the rates of anxiety and depression at the end of 2020 reached 37% and 30%, respectively, while in 2019 those figures were 8.1% and 6.5%.
In Mexico, almost a third of its population reports symptoms of clinically significant post-traumatic stress, while 40% of Brazilians have reported anxiety
Dr. Anselm Hennis, Director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at PAHO, explained that “the message is clear: we have been operating in crisis mode since the start of the pandemic. In addition to managing the fear of illness and the trauma of losing loved ones to the novel coronavirus, people in the Americas have suffered from unemployment, poverty, and food insecurity, and the adverse impact on mental health has been widespread.”
The figures for violence against women and children triple the world average
The document also highlights the serious increase in reported cases of domestic violence, mainly focused on child abuse and intimate partner violence against women. This fact worsens the high rates of violence in the region, which, as the data indicates, triple the world average before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
Another cause of this large increase in cases of mental disorders in Latin America is due to the fact that those who have had COVID-19 are at greater risk of their mental health worsening. Amy Tausch, lead author of the PAHO study, has revealed that according to the data handled, a third of the patients who passed the coronavirus have been diagnosed with a neurological or mental disorder.
Specifically, they observed that people without a psychiatric history and with a diagnosis of COVID-19 had a higher incidence of a first diagnosis of a mental disorder in the following 14 to 90 days. The other way around, an association was also found, since people who had recently been diagnosed with mental problems showed a higher risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 and more likely to suffer adverse outcomes of the disease.
“Lack of access to counseling services, less availability of in-person care and school closures have limited the ways people can receive mental health support, leaving many isolated, vulnerable and at higher risk. ”, added Dr. Renato Oliveira, head of PAHO’s Mental Health and Substance Use Unit. Based on all this, from PAHO they urge that measures be taken to strengthen the systems and services that help people in Latin America with a view to their mental well-being.
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