Study on Psychological Stress Perceived among Employees in an Italian University during Mandatory and Voluntary Remote Working during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: This cross-sectional study examined the perceived psychological well-being of administrative/technical employees and researchers/lecturers at the University of L'Aquila (Italy) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was carried out in two different periods of 2022: April 2022, when remote working was still mandatory, and December 2022, when the pandemic emergency had ended and, in Italy, remote working had become voluntary for two days a week and exclusively for administrative staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Perceived psychological well-being was investigated using the GHQ-12 (Global Health Questionnaire, short-form with 12 items), a self-administered questionnaire created on Google Forms and sent via email to all the employees of the University of L'Aquila. Statistical analysis was conducted using means, standard deviations, and frequency tables for the descriptive analysis of socio-demographic data, while the t-test or Wilcoxon test and the Χ2 test were used to verify the statistical difference and association between categorical variables. RESULTS: Overall, 365 employees, including 118 administrative/technical and 247 research/teaching staff, participated in the survey in April 2022 when remote working was mandatory. Among them, 219 (52.8%) were female and 196 (47.2%) were male. In December 2022, 266 employees engaged in voluntary remote working, including 184 (69.2%) women and 82 (30.8%) men, took part in the study. The most represented age group was 50-59 years old (36.3% of study participants). During mandatory remote working, 83.4% of lecturers reported a perceived level of psychological distress ranging from moderate to severe versus 69.5% of technicians. The percentage of self-reported psychological distress was higher among the technicians forced to work from home (n. 118-42.9%) vs. the technicians working from home on a voluntary basis (n. 157-57.1%), with GHQ score being >14 in 65.5% of enforced remote workers vs. 62.3% of voluntary remote workers. During mandatory remote working, there was a significant difference in the GHQ-12 score between administrative and research staff, particularly related to items such as loss of self-confidence, emotional pressures, and diminished productivity. Moreover, from the comparison between the group of administrative staff engaged in mandatory remote working and those in voluntary remote working for specific GHQ-12 items, a statistically significant difference emerged concerning the perception of not being able to overcome difficulties; the GHQ-12 score was higher in the first group. Significant differences in the overall GHQ-12 score were evident between male and female lecturers, as the latter reported higher levels of perceived stress during mandatory remote working. DISCUSSION: The results confirm that remote working could be associated with a better psychological state of administrative university staff, especially in the case of voluntary remote working. During mandatory remote working, a difference was observed between teaching and administrative staff, with higher stress in the first group and among women. Therefore, our sample appears fragmented in the self-assessment of psychological well-being during remote working, possibly due to profound differences in the organization of work activities between lecturers and administrative employees. Additionally, the increased perception of stress by female lecturers compared to males may reflect gender disparities, as women working from home during the pandemic experienced an increased workload including domestic activities. CONCLUSIONS: Remote working is a type of working that has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is undoubtedly a better work-life balance; however, the risks of technostress, workaholism, increased sedentary behaviour, and social isolation are negative aspects. This study provides an indicative overview of the psychological state related to remote working in a university setting during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study might therefore serve as a starting point for further research on the impact of remote working on self-reported psychological well-being, especially in the university environment.

Alterations of cerebral white matter structure in psychosis and their clinical correlations: a systematic review of Diffusion Tensor Imaging studies.

Schizophrenia is a common, severe and chronically disabling mental illness. Most of MRI studies in schizophrenia suggest the involvement of white matter (WM) pathology in multiple cerebral regions in the neurobiology of this condition. White matter fiber tracts connecting numerous cortical regions have been the focus of a number of studies using a magnetic resonance technique called "Diffusion Tensor Imaging" (DTI). A literature search of published DTI studies was conducted using the major database National Centre for Biotechnology information (NCBI) PubMed (MEDLINE). Our review covers 95 published papers. We summarise the main DTI findings involving the different brain regions in patients affected by or at high-risk for psychosis; we discuss clinical implications of these white matter disruptions and the limitations of current studies, listing the potential confounds and suggesting potential future research directions.

The metabolic syndrome in an Italian psychiatric sample: a retrospective chart review of inpatients treated with antipsychotics.

INTRODUCTION: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is an area of interest for mental health research because individuals with mental illnesses have an increased risk of medical morbidity and mortality compared with the general population. This cross-sectional study is aimed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in an Italian psychiatric sample, treated with different types of antipsychotics. METHODS: The data were derived from medical records of patient with affective and non-affective psychosis, admitted to the Hospital of L'Aquila psychiatric ward, from January 2012 to July 2014. The sample refers to consecutive admissions of subjects of both sexes, aged over 18 years, receiving one or more antipsychotic treatment. The diagnosis of MS was established when the clinical subject at least three of the five diagnostic criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III) were met. RESULTS: 389 subjects were evaluated. We report a MS prevalence of 27.5%. This figure is very close to the metabolic syndrome prevalence in the Italian general population quoted around 26%. The BMI values also are very similar in these two populations, despite a higher obesity rate in the clinical sample. The MS prevalence rates in subject with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and depressive disorders were respectively 30.6%, 36.4% and 36.8%. No significant differences in MS, diabetes or dyslipidemia rates were found among the three diagnostic groups. We did not find differences in metabolic syndrome prevalence either in relation to psychotropic polypharmacy or in relation to typical or atypical antipsychotics. However the psychiatric females in the clinical sample tend to have higher obesity rate, with a sort of all or none distribution (i.e. more obesity, more normal weight, but less overweight) compared to the general population. CONCLUSIONS: These findings could be explained by the interaction of some sort of liability due to drug treatment, illness related lifestyles, gender and other interacting factors (e.g. genetic) with metabolic issues.