The COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on Mental Health and Substance Use Summary

Abstract

COVID-19 is a highly contagious infectious respiratory disease that spreads rapidly from person to person through secretions and close contacts, quickly becoming a pandemic. In many countries various preventive measures such as quarantine and social distancing have been taken for a long time. This situation can have short and long-term consequences on people's mental health, as it is a source of prolonged stress, it can increase the risk of presenting mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and risk behaviors such as increased substances use such as alcohol, tobacco, sedatives and other drugs during the course of the pandemic, as possible coping strategies in the face of stress. Despite the fact that various investigations have been carried out on COVID-19 and the mental health of the population, there is still very little information on the relationship between the pandemic and substance use, in the current circumstances and in the future. It is necessary to systematically study the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and substance use and abuse through longitudinal research designs.