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Background: Evidence about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of specific subpopulations- such as university students-is needed as communities prepare for future waves., Aims: To study the association of proximity of COVID-19 with symptoms of anxiety and depression in university students., Methods: This trend study analyzed weekly cross-sectional surveys of probabilistic samples of students from the University of British Columbia for 13 weeks through the first wave of COVID-19. The main variable assessed was propinquity of COVID-19, defined as "knowing someone who tested positive for COVID-19", which was specified at different levels: knowing someone anywhere globally, in Canada, in Vancouver, in their course, or at home. Proximity was included in multivariable linear regressions to assess its association with primary outcomes, including 30-day symptoms of anxiety and/or depression., Results: Of 1,388 respondents (adjusted response rate=50%), 5.6% knew someone with COVID-19 in Vancouver, 0.8% in their course, and 0.3% at home. Ten percent were overwhelmed and unable to access help. Knowing someone in Vancouver was associated with an 11 percentage-point increase in the probability of 30-day anxiety symptoms (SE=0,05; p≤0,05), moderated by gender, with a significant interaction of the exposure and being female (coefficient= 20(SE=0,09), p≤0,05). No association was found with depressive symptoms., Conclusion: Propinquity of COVID-19 cases may increase the likelihood of anxiety symptoms in students, particularly amongst men. Most students report coping well, but additional supports are needed for an emotionally overwhelmed minority who report being unable to access help., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they do not have potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article. Daniel Vigo received financial support from Health Canada.

Introduction: Healthcare workers are vulnerable to adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed prevalence of mental disorders and associated factors during the first wave of the pandemic among healthcare professionals in Spain., Methods: All workers in 18 healthcare institutions (6 AACC) in Spain were invited to web-based surveys assessing individual characteristics, COVID-19 infection status and exposure, and mental health status (May 5 - September 7, 2020). We report: probable current mental disorders (Major Depressive Disorder-MDD- [PHQ-8≥10], Generalized Anxiety Disorder-GAD- [GAD-7≥10], Panic attacks, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder -PTSD- [PCL-5≥7]; and Substance Use Disorder -SUD-[CAGE-AID≥2]. Severe disability assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale was used to identify probable "disabling" current mental disorders., Results: 9,138 healthcare workers participated. Prevalence of screen-positive disorder: 28.1% MDD; 22.5% GAD, 24.0% Panic; 22.2% PTSD; and 6.2% SUD. Overall 45.7% presented any current and 14.5% any disabling current mental disorder. Workers with pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders had almost twice the prevalence than those without. Adjusting for all other variables, odds of any disabling mental disorder were: prior lifetime disorders (TUS: OR=5.74; 95%CI 2.53-13.03; Mood: OR=3.23; 95%CI:2.27-4.60; Anxiety: OR=3.03; 95%CI:2.53-3.62); age category 18-29 years (OR=1.36; 95%CI:1.02-1.82), caring "all of the time" for COVID-19 patients (OR=5.19; 95%CI: 3.61-7.46), female gender (OR=1.58; 95%CI: 1.27-1.96) and having being in quarantine or isolated (OR= 1.60; 95CI:1.31-1.95)., Conclusions: One in seven Spanish healthcare workers screened positive for a disabling mental disorder during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers reporting pre-pandemic lifetime mental disorders, those frequently exposed to COVID-19 patients, infected or quarantined/isolated, female workers, and auxiliary nurses should be considered groups in need of mental health monitoring and support., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)