covid infection

public health emergencies

mental distress

impact covid

psychological flexibility

covid outbreak

monkeypox outbreak

The Lancet Psychiatry

More than 60 000 infections have been confirmed worldwide in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, with most of these cases in China. Global attention has largely been focused on the infected patients and the frontline responders, with some marginalised populations in society having been overlooked. Here, we write to express our concerns with regards to the effect of the epidemic on people with mental health disorders. Ignorance of the differential impact of the epidemic on these patients will not only hinder any aims to prevent further spread of COVID-19, but will also augment already existing health inequalities. In China, 173 million people are living with mental health disorders,1Xiang Y-T Yu X Sartorius N Ungvari GS Chiu HF Mental health in China: challenges and progress.The Lancet. 2012; 380: 1715-1716Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (130) Google Scholar and neglect and stigma regarding these conditions still prevail in society.2Li J Zhang M Zhao L Li W Mu J Zhang Z Evaluation of attitudes and knowledge toward mental disorders in a sample of the Chinese population using a web-based approach.BMC Psychiatry. 2018; 18: 367Crossref PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar When epidemics arise, people with mental health disorders are generally more susceptible to infections for several reasons. First, mental health disorders can increase the risk of infections, including pneumonia.3Seminog OO Goldacre MJ Risk of pneumonia and pneumococcal disease in people with severe mental illness: English record linkage studies.Thorax. 2013; 68: 171-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (132) Google Scholar One report released on Feb 9, 2020, discussing a cluster of 50 cases of COVID-19 among inpatients in one psychiatric hospital in Wuhan, China, has raised concerns over the role of mental disorders in coronavirus transmission.4China NewsweekCollective infections of coronavirus among 50 patients and 30 health workers in one psychiatric hospital in Wuhan. Shanghai Obs. 2020.https://www.jfdaily.com/news/detail?id=208584D...

Patients with mental health disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic