The spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection has increased the risk of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and healthcare workers (HCWs) are at greater risk than other occupational groups. This observational cross-sectional study aimed to explore the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among dental HCWs in Russia during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was carried out among 128 dental HCWs from three dental clinics of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The mean age of the sample was 38.6 years. Depression, anxiety, and stress were assessed using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); PTSD was assessed using the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self-Report (PSS-SR); subjective distress was assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The results indicated that 20.3–24.2% HCWs had mild to extremely severe symptoms of psychological distress, and 7.1–29.7% had clinical symptoms of PTSD. No differences between females and males were revealed. HCWs working directly with patients had significantly higher levels of PTSD symptoms and the risk of PTSD development compared to those working indirectly, whereas older HCWs had significantly higher levels of both psychological distress and PTSD symptoms compared to younger HCWs. Thus, dental HCWs are at high risk for psychological distress and PTSD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Variations in anxiety-related behavior are associated with individual allostatic set-points in chronically stressed rats. Actively offensive rats with the externalizing indicators of sniffling and climbing the stimulus and material tearing during 10 days of predator scent stress had reduced plasma corticosterone, increased striatal glutamate metabolites, and increased adrenal 11-dehydrocorticosterone content compared to passively defensive rats with the internalizing indicators of freezing and grooming, as well as to controls without any behavioral changes. These findings suggest that rats that display active offensive activity in response to stress develop anxiety associated with decreased allostatic set-points and increased resistance to stress.

The present study aimed to assess antibody seropositivity prevalence among symptomatic individuals and individuals with a high risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Participants from Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation) who were at an increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (high-risk group, n = 1091) and participants who either had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or were suspected to have experienced COVID-19 in the past (symptomatic group, n = 692) were enrolled between 28 September and 30 December 2020. Blood samples were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay D-5501 SARS-Cov-2-IgG-EIA-BEST and D-5502 SARS-Cov-2-IgM-EIA-BEST (AO Vector-Best, Novosibirsk, Russia). The overall seropositivity rate was 28.33–28.53%. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected in 17.23% (adjusted prevalence of 17.17–17.29%) of participants in the high-risk and 45.95% (adjusted prevalence of 45.91–46.24%) in the symptomatic group. Higher IgG and IgM titers were observed in women compared to men, as well as in participants in the symptomatic group compared to those in the high-risk group. The results indicate that the seroprevalence among residents in several Russian regions is low (28.38%) and inadequate to provide herd immunity. The lower seroprevalence among participants in the high-risk group may be attributed to the enforcement of healthcare protocols and the use of adequate personal protective equipment.

Serological methods have become especially in demand during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as they have high specificity, ease of implementation, good speed and relatively low cost.People with symptoms of COVID-19 were found to be statistically significantly more likely to test positive for IgM and IgG. The positivity coefficient was also significantly higher in the group of people with symptoms of coronavirus infection. The distribution of the density of positive ELISA results for all types of antibodies was multimodal in both groups of patients, with many peaks that differ both in density values and in time periods of their detection. When analyzing the multimodal distribution of the obtained seroprevalence results for the period from 06/01/2020 to 01/18/2022, it was found that in people at risk, peaks of increased density of positive for IgM results appeared earlier, which may reflect the initial spread of infection in asymptomatic patients. The smallest differences in the time of occurrence of peaks of high density of seropositive ELISA results between groups was determined for IgA — from 2 to 8 days. This may be due to the relatively short seroconversion time for this type of antibody. In general, using serological methods for diagnosing COVID-19, it is possible to assess the prevalence of coronavirus infection in different cohorts of the population, as well as to study in more detail the features of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2.

There is scarce evidence of a relationship between positive and psychosomatic characteristics. This study aimed to examine the associations of somatic burden with psychological resources such as optimism, resilience, and general self-efficacy. Russian participants (n = 1020) completed measures of psychological resources at Time 1 and somatic symptoms at Time 2. The results showed that somatic burden decreased with greater levels of optimism, resilience, and general self-efficacy. Regarding health and sociodemographic characteristics, female sex increased somatic burden in the model with optimism scores, university education decreased somatic burden in the model with resilience scores, and history of COVID-19 disease increased somatic burden in the models with optimism, resilience, and general self-efficacy scores. This study has theoretical and practical contributions. It combines positive psychology and psychosomatic medicine and highlights the value of psychological resource interventions in the treatment and prevention of somatic burden. These findings may be useful for scientists, clinicians, and practitioners.

Serological assays, being rapid and relatively inexpensive methods for detecting COVID-19, may play an important role in combating the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The aim of the present study was to assess dynamics of changes in the number of seropositive patients for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies over 2.5 years of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. The study included 6051 persons (2840 women and 3211 males). Their mean age was 41.680.17 years (MSEM). At the time of this survey, all participants were residents of the Chelyabinsk region. General information was collected over the period from 06/01/2020 to 01/18/2022. Seropositivity for SARS-C0V-2 was assessed by test kits for IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies (JSC Vector-Best, Novosibirsk, Russia) against SARS-CoV-2 using indirect two-stage enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). Over the entire period, 27 cases were seronegative (20.45%); 99 samples were positive for IgA to SARS-CoV-2 (75%), and 6 samples (4.55%) yielded questionable ELISA results. IgG testing for SARS-Cov-2 antibodies was negative in 2433 cases (42.35%); 3245 samples (56.48%) were positive, and 67 specimens provided (1.17%) doubtful results using ELISA tests. IgM antibodies were not revealed in 2710 (70.41%) cases; 996 were positive (25.88%), and 143 specimens (3.72%) yielded doubtful results by ELISA technique. In general, the highest proportion of positive results was found in class A immunoglobulins. The wave-like distribution of the density among all antibody-positive patients was revealed, which, however, was not associated with peak values of COVID-19 morbidity in Chelyabinsk Region. Most waves of seroprevalence were detected before the waves of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A positive relationship was established between IgG and IgM seropositivity against SARS-CoV-2 with age and female gender. Conclusion. In general, serological testing and regular monitoring of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 may play an important role in assessing its prevalence during the coronavirus pandemic and immune response to the infection at a population level.