THE INCREASED INCIDENCE OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AS A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began at the end of 2019 in China, with SARS-CoV 2, an RNA virus, as the causative agent. In response to the pandemic, countries had to take action to reduce the spread of the virus and the lethal consequences it caused. This has had an impact on the mental health of the general population, since such events influence people's emotional responses, making them more susceptible to the onset or worsening of mental disorders, especially depression and anxiety. Objective: To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of anxiety and depression. Methodology: This is a bibliographic review, which will be carried out through searches in the MEDLINE/Pubmed, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Virtual Health Library (BVS) databases, using the following descriptors: "anxiety", "depression", "Covid-19". The inclusion criteria will be: articles published between 2018 and 2022, in Portuguese, English or Spanish, with free access, indexed in databases, containing at least one of the defined descriptors in the title or abstract. Duplicate, paid-for or incomplete articles, articles outside the defined period, articles not in Portuguese, English or Spanish, abstracts, monographs, theses and dissertations will be excluded. Results: the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the population's mental health, increasing the incidence of anxiety and depression. Health professionals must therefore be prepared to deal with this growing demand and offer effective treatments for these disorders.