Features of Psychopathological Symptoms in Combatants with Non-Psychotic Mental Disorders Who Had COVID-19
Authors:   Bukovinian State Medical University, Department of Pathological Anatomy. 2, Theater Square, Chernivtsi 58000, Ukraine, Koval M. Ye. , Venger O. P. 
Published: February 2023

The purpose of the work was to study the peculiarities of the expressiveness of psychopathological symptoms in combatants with non-psychotic mental disorders who suffered from the COVID-19 disease. Materials and methods. 252 combatants with non-psychotic mental disorders took part in the study, based on the examination of 132 combatants who did not have COVID-19 and 120 – who had COVID-19. Results and discussion. Significantly lower indicators of expressiveness of psychopathological symptoms were found in combatants who did not suffer from COVID-19, and the basis of psychopathological manifestations are: obsessive-compulsive disorders – 2.42 ± 0.33 and 2.55 ± 0.36 points, respectively (р <0.01); depression – 2.20 ± 1.15 and 2.66 ± 1.03 points (p <0.01); anxiety – 2.18 ± 0.91 and 2.41 ± 0.89 points (p <0.05). Manifestations of somatization are: auxiliary psychopathological constructs – 1.63 ± 1.07 and 2.47 ± 0.80 points (р <0.01); interpersonal sensitivity – 1.23 ± 0.96 and 1.52 ± 0.97 points, respectively (p <0.05); hostility – 1.31 ± 0.38 and 1.42 ± 0.39 points (p <0.05) and phobic anxiety – 1.23 ± 0.49 and 1.28 ± 0.48 points (p>0.05), with insignificant expressiveness of paranoid symptoms and psychoticism. It was established that combatants who suffered from the disease of COVID-19 had significantly higher levels of post-traumatic stress – 88.9 ± 16.6 and 97.8 ± 15.7 points, respectively (p <0.01), invasion symptoms – 24.5 ± 4.4 and 26.3 ± 4.9 points (p <0.01); avoidance – 23.1 ± 5.8 and 25.7 ± 5.0 points (p <0.01); excitability – 21.6 ± 5.1 and 23.8 ± 4.5 points (p <0.01); guilt – 19.7 ± 5.4 and 22.0 ± 5.0 points (p <0.01), and post-traumatic depression – 5.3 ± 4.1 and 8.2 ± 5.1 points; anxiety – 4.9 ± 3.7 and 6.8 ± 3.8 points (p <0.01), and stress – 8.1 ± 4.2 and 10.3 ± 4.1 points (p <0.01). Deterioration of cognitive functioning with a decrease in the speed and efficiency of cognitive processes was established, which did not reach the level of severe cognitive dysfunction, more pronounced in patients who suffered from COVID-19, which was manifested by a decrease in performance indicators of the TMT-A test – respectively, 37.0 ± 12.2 and 45.9 ± 14.8 sec. (p <0.01); TMT-B – 147.4 ± 37.6 and 164.4 ± 53.8 sec. (p <0.05); indicators of semantic verbal speed: number of words for letter “K” – 18.2 ± 5.4 and 16.8 ± 5.4 words (p <0.01); words for letter “P” – 16.6 ± 5.7 and 15.2 ± 5.6 words (p <0.05); words “Male names” – 17.1 ± 5.1 and 15.7 ± 5.1 words (p <0.01); words “Fruits/furniture” – 16.0 ± 5.3 and 14.7 ± 5.2 words (p <0.05), as well as slowing down the Stroop test: reading the names of colors printed in black – 51.5 ± 9.6 and 57.6 ± 8.9 sec. (p <0.01), color naming – 77.0 ± 16.9 and 86.7 ± 17.4 sec. (p <0.01), reading the names of colors where the color of the font differs from the meaning of the word – 131.2 ± 20.4 and 142.1 ± 19.9 sec., naming the color of a word where the color of the font differs from the meaning of the word – 50.5 ± 9.6 and 56.6 ± 8.9 sec. (p <0.01), stiffness/flexibility indicators of control – 54.2 ± 10.3 and 55.4 ± 7.9 sec. and verbality – 1.5 ± 0.1 and 1.5 ± 0.1 sec. Conclusion. The revealed regularities allow considering COVID-19 as an actual risk factor for the deterioration of psychopathological and post-traumatic symptoms, as well as cognitive disorders in combatants with non-psychotic mental disorders