Abstract
Abstract Objectives: to evaluate burden, frequency of anxiety and signs and symptoms of depression in mothers of children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation period. Methods: this is a cross-sectional study conducted with mothers who care for their children with CZS. The data were collected by an online form with questions regarding mother's socioeconomic conditions and questions related with Zarit burden scale and Beck's inventories on depression and anxiety. Spearman’s correlation tests and multiple regression analyzes were performed to assess factors related to mothers' burden and mental health. Results: 41 mothers were evaluated, 51.2% had mild burden, 39% had minimal anxiety and 73.2% did not have signs and symptoms of depression. Negative correlations were observed between levels of burden and maternal schooling (p=0.01), presence of signs and symptoms of anxiety and receiving financial aid (p<0.04) as well as the presence of signs and symptoms of anxiety and having children with seizures history (p=0.03). Conclusion: despite the risk of their children again being victims of an epidemic virus, mothers who care for their children with CZS did not present serious mental health impairments.
Highlights
Women infected by Zika virus during pregnancy, whose children were later diagnosed with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), live until today the consequences of the Zika virus epidemic, described between 2015 and 2016.1 According to data from the Ministry of Health of Brazil, between 2015 and 2018, 3474 confirmed cases of CZS were registered and countless other cases still remained under investigation.[2]
These results may reflect the psychological changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation, coupled with the impacts of caring for a child with severe neurological impairments often associated with comorbidities.[3,4,8]
Previous studies show that caregivers of children with CZS mental health is vulnerable for the need of intense care, difficulties with specialized healthcare and the lack of knowledge about the natural history of the disease.[24]
Summary
In the early 2020, in the face of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists warned which groups were considered vulnerable and at higher risk of death if infected by the new virus.[6] Among these groups are individuals with chronic comorbidities, such as children with CZS who often present recurrent pneumonias, dysphagia, difficult-to-control seizures, and severe motor impairment.[7,8] In addition to these comorbidities, unfavorable socioeconomic conditions may increase the vulnerability of these children to infections.[9,10] during the COVID-19 pandemic, children with CZS and their mothers experience a second potentially fatal viral outbreak, and the children are at eminent risk of being doubly victimized
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