COVID-19 distress affects healthcare and administrative workers equally at a tertiary hospital center in Brazil.

Introduction: The COVID-19 outbreak exposes healthcare workers to an increased risk of distress and psychiatric symptoms. Objectives: To evaluate psychological suffering and mental disorders among healthcare workers at a tertiary hospital, a referral center for COVID-19 treatment. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, quantitative study with descriptive methodology. Fifty-eight healthcare workers who attended consultations at the hospital's Mental Health Outpatient Clinic were included. The study was carried out after approval by the research ethics committee at the Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (32665020.3.0000.5415). Results: 81% were women, mean age was 38.98±10.6 years, 20 (34.5%) were administrative staff, 24 (41.4%) were attending a first consultation, and 28 had had previous psychiatric attention at other services. Sixteen (28%) reported new symptoms during the pandemic, with anxious (10), irritable (3), and depressive (2) symptoms being the most frequent. Anxiety (26) and depressive disorders (19) were the most prevalent. As for exposure to news, the most common feelings were fear (19) and anguish or concern (9). The most common feelings associated with the pandemic were fear and recurrent thoughts of social and economic impact (27). The main reflections were about the meaning of life (17), human vulnerability (11), and the importance of the family (7). Regarding prospects for the future, 70.7% (41) reported hope for improvement. Conclusions: Initial data suggest a high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as sleep disturbances, regardless of work team. Fear of death and uncertainty about the future are also prevalent. These data reinforce the importance of developing strategies to reduce the risks to this population's mental health.

Serum levels of high sensitive C reactive protein in healthy adults from southern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: With the emergence of more sensitive assay techniques, it has been shown that C reactive protein (CRP) is present at low levels in the serum of all the clinically healthy individuals. OBJECTIVE: To determine the interval values of high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) in healthy adults. METHODS: Serum hs-CRP level was evaluated in 176 healthy blood donors. RESULTS: The serum hs-CRP level ranged from <0.175 to 48.7 mg/l (median 1.2 mg/l); 127 (72.2%) individuals exhibited values ≥0.175 and <3.0 mg/l and 31 (17.6%) showed values >3.0 and ≤10.0 mg. Higher hs-CRP level was observed among the female than male (P = 0.0001), and among the older than the younger individuals (P = 0.0180). Individuals with body mass index ≥25.0 kg/m(2) exhibited higher hs-CRP level than those with normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m(2) ; P < 0.0005). When the participants were stratified into gender and low (≤24.9 kg/m(2) ) and high (≥24.9 kg/m(2) ) body mass index (BMI) groups, the gender difference in hs-CRP levels remained (female with low BMI vs. male with low BMI, P = 0.0221; female with high BMI vs. male with high BMI, P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Gender, age, and BMI influence serum hs-CRP level in healthy individuals and these variables should be considered for the interpretation of hs-CRP values. The results reinforce the importance in evaluating whether these differences in hs-CRP levels could contribute to alter the cardiovascular risk criteria and clinical outcomes, and whether hs-CRP thresholds for cardiovascular risk assessment should be adjusted for different gender and body mass index groups.