UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MENTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC DISEASES: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To understand the influence of chronic illnesses on patients' mental health in the available scientific literature. Methodology: an integrative literature review, associated with the acronym PICo and structured with the descriptors: Chronic illness; Mental health and Primary Health Care. The time frame was 2018 to 2023, and the inclusion criteria were: primary articles, available in full, within the time series, in Portuguese, English or Spanish. The search took place in the Virtual Health Library, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online databases via PUBMED. Results: an initial sample of 1,254 studies was obtained, which were screened as follows: application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, prior reading of titles and abstracts, reading in full and alignment with the study's objective, totaling 09 articles. Discussion: The main chronic pathologies identified were cardiovascular and metabolic, causing a scenario of constant consultations, compulsory adherence to drug therapy, routine invasive tests, culminating in emotional overload, continuous stress, as well as obstacles to support networks, catalyzing rates of loneliness, depression, anxiety and treatment abandonment. The studies point to primary care as a mediator of this reality, capable of offering continuous assistance from a multi-professional team, remedying, within its attributions, the geographical and social barriers that corroborate the worsening of these situations. Mental illness was prevalent among the studies when related to chronic diseases, with greater emphasis on the elderly and children. Final considerations: the research converges in the perspective that the diagnosis of chronic illnesses, especially in their terminal presentation, is capable of inducing feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear, implying growing cases of depression and suicidal ideation.