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Medicina
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The Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health, 2nd Edition
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The Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Epidemiology & Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2026 | Viewed by 207

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sorin Hostiuc

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Legal Medicine and Bioethics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Carol Davila University” of Medicine and Pharmacy, RO-020021 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: pathology; bioethics; sudden cardiac death; forensic; research ethics; telocytes; stem cells; organoids
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Beatrice Gabriela Ioan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Legal-Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iasi, 700115 Iasi, Romania
Interests: bioethics; medical law; forensic medicine; medical malpractice; medical communication; violence against medical professionals; burnout in medical professionals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant burdens on global mental health, manifesting across various demographics and exacerbating pre-existing psychological conditions. This Special Issue is the second one on this topic published in Medicina, entitled “The Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health”.

The pandemic led to a significant rise in anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders due to contributing factors such as fear of infection, social isolation due to lockdowns, economic uncertainties, and disruptions to daily routines. Frontline healthcare professionals encountered unprecedented challenges during this period, resulting in elevated levels of burnout, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their psychological stress compounded by extended working hours, high patient mortality, and inadequate personal protective equipment.

In children and adolescents, the closure of educational institutions and the transition to remote learning substantially affected mental well-being, with reports of increased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression and some studies indicating that over 40% of students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the pandemic.

Patients with pre-existing psychiatric disorders were also significantly affected, showing increased vulnerability and exacerbation of their mental conditions. Disruptions to therapy and support services, combined with heightened stressors, resulted in increased symptomatology, burden, and even mortality within this population.

This Special Issue aims to gather significant scientific contributions in this area in the form of either original articles or reviews. We are especially interested in studies on the effect of long COVID on mental health.

Prof. Dr. Sorin Hostiuc
Prof. Dr. Beatrice Gabriela Ioan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • mental health
  • therapy
  • psychological stress
  • psychiatric disorders

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Research

21 pages, 845 KB  
Article
Mental Health and Age-Related Differences in Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study from Southeastern Türkiye
by Pakize Gamze Erten Bucaktepe, Vasfiye Demir Pervane, Ömer Göcen, Sercan Bulut Çelik, Fatima Çelik, Öznur Uysal Batmaz, Ahmet Yılmaz, Tahsin Çelepkolu and Kürşat Altınbaş
Medicina 2025, 61(10), 1840; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61101840 - 14 Oct 2025
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound disruptions in socioeconomic, and health domains, with significant implications for mental well-being. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on stress, anxiety, and depression, alongside perceived social support, [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound disruptions in socioeconomic, and health domains, with significant implications for mental well-being. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on stress, anxiety, and depression, alongside perceived social support, coping flexibility and related factors, and to examine how these issues vary across different age groups. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in Türkiye between August and December 2020. Data were collected through an online questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, pandemic-related concerns, and validated scales: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Coping Flexibility Scale (CFS), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Statistical analyses included descriptive and comparative tests, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression models, and correspondence analysis. Results: Among 1699 participants, 58.0% were female; 24.5% and 42.1% reported anxiety and depressive symptoms above thresholds, respectively. Younger age correlated negatively with stress, anxiety, and depression scores (p < 0.001). Feelings of loneliness, loss of control, ostracism, and sleep or concentration problems were positively associated with anxiety, depression, and stress, but negatively associated with coping flexibility and social support (p < 0.001). The 15–20 age group had the highest anxiety and depression levels and the lowest social support; the 15–30 group showed the highest stress, while the 61–75 group exhibited the lowest coping flexibility. Regression models explained 62.7% of anxiety and 56.6% of depressive symptom variances. Major predictors of anxiety included depressive symptoms, stress, and fear of dying from COVID-19, while depressive symptoms were predicted by age, stress, coping flexibility, social support, and anxiety. Conclusions: The findings highlight the considerable psychological burden and distinct vulnerabilities among age groups. Mental health interventions should be tailored according to age, emphasising the enhancement of social support and coping flexibility to strengthen resilience in future pandemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Burden of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health, 2nd Edition)
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