Psychological distress in patients with serious mental illness during the COVID-19 outbreak and one-month mass quarantine in Italy

In this context, we conducted an observational, case−control analysis to examine the severity of COVID-19-related perceived stress, anxiety, depressive, and psychotic symptoms in 205 patients with serious mental illness, 51 their first-degree relatives, and 205 non-psychiatric subjects after one-month lockdown. Descriptive statistics and comparisons between groups Patients Controls Caregivers PSS 16.3 ± 8.6 14.1 ± 6.9 p = 0.009 t403 = 2.64 Cohen's d = .26 13.6 ± 7.1 n.s. GAD-7 6.9 ± 5.4 5.5 ± 4.3 p = 0.01 t403 = 2.6 Cohen's d = .25 5.3 ± 4.1 n.s. PHQ-9 9.3 ± 6.2 6.2 ± 4.5 p < 0.0001 t403 = 5.9 Cohen's d = .55 4.2 ± 3.2 p = 0.003 t250 = 3.001 Hedges' g = .47 SPEQ-Paranoia 10.7 ± 16.3 3.8 ± 7.3 p < 0.0001 t403 = 5.47 Cohen's d = .54 2.7 ± 4.8 n.s. SPEQ-Grandiosity 2.4 ± 3.6 3.2 ±4 .0 p = 0.04 t403 = 2.05 Cohen's d = .20 1.5 ± 2.9 p = 0.006 t250 = 2.77 Hedges'g = .43 ZBI 20.4 ± 14.4 n.s., not significant; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; GAD-7, 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder; PHQ-9, 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire; SPEQ, Specific Psychotic Experiences Questionnaire; ZBI, Zarit Burden Interview. Author contributions Felice Iasevoli made the literature search, designed the study, drafted the study protocol, obtained IRB approval, performed the data analysis, carried out data interpretation, wrote the first manuscript draft and its final version after the other Authors' evaluation and suggestions.