In:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 273, No. 2 ( 2023-03), p. 347-356
Abstract:
Healthcare workers experienced high degree of stress during COVID-19. Purpose of the present article is to compare mental health (depressive and Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorders—PTSD—symptoms) and epigenetics aspects (degree of methylation of stress-related genes) in front-line healthcare professionals versus healthcare working in non-COVID-19 wards. Sixty-eight healthcare workers were included in the study: 39 were working in COVID-19 wards (cases) and 29 in non-COVID wards (controls). From all participants, demographic and clinical information were collected by an ad-hoc questionnaire. Depressive and PTSD symptoms were evaluated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Impact of Event Scale—Revised (IES-R), respectively. Methylation analyses of 9 promoter/regulatory regions of genes known to be implicated in depression/PTSD ( ADCYAP1, BDNF, CRHR1, DRD2, IGF2, LSD1/KDM1A, NR3C1, OXTR, SLC6A4 ) were performed on DNA from blood samples by the MassARRAY EpiTYPER platform, with MassCleave settings. Controls showed more frequent lifetime history of anxiety/depression with respect to cases ( χ 2 = 5.72, p = 0.03). On the contrary, cases versus controls presented higher PHQ-9 ( t = 2.13, p = 0.04), PHQ-9 sleep item ( t = 2.26, p = 0.03), IES-R total ( t = 2.17, p = 0.03), IES-R intrusion ( t = 2.46, p = 0.02), IES-R avoidance ( t = 1.99, p = 0.05) mean total scores. Methylation levels at CRHR1, DRD2 and LSD1 genes was significantly higher in cases with respect to controls ( p 〈 0.01, p = 0.03 and p = 0.03, respectively). Frontline health professionals experienced more negative effects on mental health during COVID-19 pandemic than non-frontline healthcare workers. Methylation levels were increased in genes regulating HPA axis ( CRHR1) and dopamine neurotransmission ( DRD2 and LSD1 ), thus supporting the involvement of these biological processes in depression/PTSD and indicating that methylation of these genes can be modulated by stress conditions, such as working as healthcare front-line during COVID-19 pandemic.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0940-1334
,
1433-8491
DOI:
10.1007/s00406-022-01472-y
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2793981-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1459045-1
SSG:
2,1
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