Análisis del perfil sociodemográfico y clínico de personas derivadas a una Unidad de Salud Mental durante el principio de la pandemia por COVID-19 en España

Introduction. The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of the world's population. Both fear and anxiety have been common factors in all societies. The objective of the study is to analyze the sociodemographic and clinical profile of referrals made from Primary Care (PC) to a Mental Health Unit (MHU) during the first months of the pandemic and confinement in Spain.Material and methods. A cross-sectional descriptive retrospective study was carried out using an ad-hoc questionnaire, administered in 105 subjects, during the months of March and October 2020. The main variable of the study was whether the demand was a consequence of COVID-19 or not. The secondary variables are the sociodemographic profile (gender, age, place of residence, healthy lifestyle, and work situation) and the clinical profile (main, secondary and COVID-19 diagnosis, relapse episode, medical history, substance use and use of psychiatric drugs).Results. Referred patients are mainly diagnosed with anxiety and depression and considered COVID-19 as the main cause of their mental discomfort if they are people who reside in an urban nucleus, if their main diagnosis was hypochondria, or if they did not consume substances.Discussion. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic can vary according to the sociodemographic and clinical profile of the population; therefore, they must be studied more thoroughly, especially in patients with previous mental health problems.