The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the global population

Abstract

The year 2020 was marked by the spread of the COVID-19 virus around the world, which began in Wuhan, China. It quickly spread to several countries and caused a state of fear among the population. Along with the virus, there were also restrictions on movement, which had a direct impact on the global economy, especially in sectors where it is necessary to maintain face-to-face relationships. All of these factors combined brought to light another problem, which is cited by public bodies as the fourth wave of the pandemic: the impacts of the pandemic on mental health. Several factors are pointed out as causes, among them are the fear of getting sick, the illness itself, the loss of loved ones, the loneliness of isolation, the fear of losing one's source of income, the fear of losing one's job, changes in sleep patterns, and others. Therefore, the study in question aimed to analyze the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the global population after the end of the movement restrictions. Articles published in journals indexed on the PubMed platform were analyzed, and only articles that analyzed the repercussions of the post-pandemic period were considered important for the research. The results found demonstrate that the pandemic affected the population in several areas, such as physical activity, sleep patterns, and increased levels of stress, sadness, and anxiety. In addition, they also showed that the male and female populations were affected in different ways. Therefore, the impacts of the pandemic are likely to reverberate for years or decades in the world's population, raising questions about how they can be mitigated through the implementation of public policies and how these policies should be applied in each context