Pandemia da Covid-19: reflexões para a vigilância em saúde

Abstract

The disease caused by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) is currently the most serious public health problem in the world. Considering the magnitude of the disease, as well as the psychosocial and economic impacts, assessing the temporal distribution and factors associated with mortality from COVID-19 in different publics can provide evidence about the temporal dynamics and the groups with the highest risk of death. With the measures adopted to face the pandemic, changes were observed in the professional practice of health professionals and teachers, and it is important to assess the impact on mental health. In this context, the aim of this study was to assess morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in Brazil and the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of health professionals and teachers. To respond to this objective, four studies were developed. In the first, a cross-sectional study, 8,402 children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) due to COVID-19 were included. The incidence and mortality rates were 13.74 and 1.35 per 100,000, respectively, with a mortality rate of 9.81%. In the multivariate analysis using Poisson Regression with robust variance, the factors associated with a higher risk of death were age group < 1 year, heart disease, immunosuppressive diseases, neurological diseases and Down syndrome. In the second article, a systematic review, it was identified that the instruments Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), MNA-short form, the Geriatric Nutrition Risk Index, the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002, the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, the modified Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill (NUTRIC) score and the Subjective Global Assessmen have high sensitivity for identifying nutritional risk in older adults with COVID19. In the third article, a systematic review on the mental health of teachers in times of COVID-19, it was found that the prevalence of anxiety ranged from ten to 49.4%, for depression, from 15.9 to 28.9%, and, for stress, from 12.6 to 50.6%. Working in schools (compared to universities), being female and experiencing a return to face-to-face classes were factors related to a higher risk of emotional changes. In the fourth article, a systematic review with meta-analysis on anxiety in health professionals, a prevalence of 35% (95%CI: 29-40) was identified, being higher in women and nurses. Working on the front lines, being infected with the coronavirus and having chronic illnesses were also factors associated with a higher risk of anxiety. The results of this thesis show that despite being less prevalent than in the elderly, COVID-19 also affects a considerable number of children and adolescents in Brazil, with a higher prevalence ratio for death in those with heart disease, immunosuppressive diseases, neurological diseases and Down syndrome. A high prevalence of alterations in the emotional state was registered in health professionals and teachers, with the need for collective health measures aimed at preventing these alterations in these professionals. There is a need to include this agenda in Health Surveillance, specifically Occupational Health.