Abstract
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Review Study
Author(s): Mina Mohseni, Payam Khalafi, Shadi Hajizamani and Bahareh Baghchi*Various measures, including social distancing and quarantine, in order to prevent the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic have led to problems in the community. One of the main consequences of COVID-19 in society is the occurrence of various psychological disorders worldwide. Meanwhile, patients with schizophrenia may be more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. Therefore, the present review study was conducted to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. 408 articles were collected and analyzed from the databases of the MEDLINE, PUBMED, Scopus, Science direct, and EMBASE. A total of 33 papers were evaluated for eligibility, but only 17 articles were included in the study because they met all inclusion criteria. In this review study, it was hypothesized that the restrictions imposed by the prevalence of COVID 19 would lead to adverse effects in patients with schizophrenia. The present study first provides an introduction to COVID-19 disease and the specific conditions created by the epidemic, such as quarantine and social distancing. In the following, we examined the relationship between COVID-19 and the incidence of mental illness. Finally, selected recent studies on the effect of COVID-19 on schizophrenic patients were reviewed in order to conclusion on this subject. A review of the literature on the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders showed conflicting results. It was concluded that patients with schizophrenia have a number of risk factors, including social problems and disease-related factors; therefore, these patients may be vulnerable to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. On the other hand due to the novelty of the topic, more studies are needed in this field, because these effects seem to be identified in the long term.