Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one of the major health
concerns worldwide affecting not only human physical health but also
contributing to the development of many mental disorders including
impairment of the cognitive function. It is highly conceivable that
elevation of the stress hormones, i.e., glucocorticoids and catecholamines,
due to the infection, as well as the presence of psychosocial stressors,
such as COVID-19 information, play a critical role in the development of
these disorders. In the present study, the potential impact of exposure to
COVID-19 information on the cognitive distortion and stress levels was
analyzed in a population of 32 first-year medical sciences students using
the stress assessment questionnaire (SAQ) and the posttraumatic cognitions
inventory (PTCI) surveys. Both surveys demonstrated no acute change in the
stress and post-traumatic cognition levels between medical sciences students
who were either exposed or not to information about COVID-19. Interestingly,
analysis of the stress and cognition points across the first and second
measurements of the SAQ categories revealed a significant change in the
control group but not in the experimental group. In addition, there was no
significant difference among groups when considering the time*group
factor. To conclude, we found that exposure to information about COVID-19
did not contribute acutely to cognitive distortion and stress levels among
participating students. The previous exposure to COVID-19-related
information from media and living during the COVID-19 pandemic era might
have enhanced the awareness of the students to the situation.
Key words
stress - cognition - information - SARS-CoV-2
