The COVID-19 pandemic: new challenges for the mental health protection system

PURPOSE: The comparative investigation of the scientific research materials and systematization of the latest data on the epidemiological state, pathogenetic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, risk factors, and psychopathological consequences of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the population is needed for the further targeted development of treatment and rehabilitation measures. VIEWS: The COVID-19 pandemic has been increasingly viewed through the lens of serious global mental health issues. This article analyzes the results of original research and publications data on the etiopathogenesis, neuropsychiatric features, and risk factors of mental disorders associated with the pandemic. The study was carried out within the scope of the scientific research work of the Department of General, Children’s Forensic Psychiatry, and Narcology of the Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine. Its title was “Development of a multimodal system of restorative therapy and medical and psychological rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19, based on the study of leading pathogenetic mechanisms” (state registration number 0121U114707). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the recent rapid increase in the number of sources in the literature devoted to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, several questions remain unresolved. This especially applies to disorders in the mental sphere, concerning clinical phenomenology, features of emotional and cognitive disturbances, personal response, levels of social functioning and the quality of life of patients who have suffered from COVID-19. The data obtained can serve as the basis for the further development of a multimodal model of hierarchical structural-functional pathogenetic links of mental disorders, as well as a target-oriented system of restorative therapy and medical-psychological rehabilitation of patients who have suffered from COVID-19.