Peritraumatic Distress Affected the Course of Depressive Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Subjects with Affective and Anxiety Disorders

Claudia Carmassi (), Carlo Antonio Bertelloni, Valerio Dell’Oste, Sara Fantasia, Lucia Maggioni, Mirella Ruggeri, Branko Ristic, Chiara Bonetto and Sarah Tosato
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Claudia Carmassi: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Carlo Antonio Bertelloni: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Valerio Dell’Oste: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Sara Fantasia: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Lucia Maggioni: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy
Mirella Ruggeri: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy
Branko Ristic: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy
Chiara Bonetto: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy
Sarah Tosato: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, 37124 Verona, Italy

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 4, 1-7

Abstract: In western countries, the COVID-19 pandemic represented a unique scenario of a global threat of contagion of a life-threatening illness, as confirmed by the need for exceptional and never adopted measures represented by national lockdowns. This study aimed to investigate peritraumatic distress in the framework of the lockdown and to measure the impact on the course of depressive symptoms during the “first wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. A sample of 131 subjects (52.7% females; mean age 47.0 ± 15.9 years), looking for a first or follow-up psychiatric visit at the outpatient psychiatric services of two Italian university hospitals, was recruited between 1 June 2020 and 30 July 2020 and assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI) at the time of enrolment in the study (T0). The HAM-D was administered again after 3 months (T1). Higher PDI scores significantly predicted the persistence or worsening of depressive symptoms. These results give further evidence of the possible interplay between peritraumatic distress and depressive symptoms in the framework of a global health threat such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: depression; peritraumatic distress; COVID-19; affective disorders; mood disorders; anxiety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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