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Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Psychological COVID-19 gastrointestinal

sample size is sufficient for preliminary research, it may Acknowledgments
not fully represent the variation among various clinical
or demographic subgroups within Central Macedonia, The authors would like to thank their families, their
Greece, thereby limiting the generalizability of the findings. patients, physicians, and nurses of the COVID-19 clinics.
Third, there is a potential for reporting bias, as both GI and Funding
emotional symptoms were based on self-reported data.
Finally, while not taken into account in this study, external None.
variables, such as media exposure during the pandemic,
social isolation, or past mental health history, may have Conflict of interest
affected participants’ psychological states. Kalliopi Megari is the Youth Editorial Board Member of
To our knowledge, no prior studies have specifically this journal, but was not in any way involved in the editorial
examined the association between emotional states and and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly
different GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients, nor the or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they
relationship between GI symptoms and responses to have no known competing financial interests or personal
psychological tests. Our findings provide novel insights that relationships that could have influenced the work reported
may have significant implications for understanding the in this paper.
quality of life and daily functioning of COVID-19 patients Author contributions
experiencing GI symptoms. Future research should further
explore these associations in larger and more diverse Conceptualization: Kalliopi Megari
populations, paving the way for targeted interventions that Formal analysis: Kalliopi Megari, Efthymia Efthymiou,
improve patient outcomes. Alexandros Argyriadis
Investigation: Evanthia Thomaidou, Dimitra V. Katsarou,
5. Conclusion Eugenia I. Toki
Emotional disturbances, such as stress, anxiety, depression, Methodology: Kalliopi Megari, Evangelos Mantsos,
and insomnia, are prevalent among COVID-19 patients 13,14 Soultana Papadopoulou
and play an important role in shaping patient outcomes. Writing – original draft: Kalliopi Megari, Evanthia
Diarrhea, in particular, has emerged as an important GI Thomaidou
symptom associated with negative mood, heightened Writing – review & editing: Kalliopi Megari, Evanthia
anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Early recognition and Thomaidou
management of emotional distress in COVID-19 patients
with GI symptoms are essential for improving clinical Ethics approval and consent to participate
outcomes and overall well-being. All procedures involving human subjects/patients were
Among COVID-19 survivors, psychiatric sequelae are approved by the Bioethics and Ethics Committee of
commonly observed, with at least one disorder frequently AHEPA University Hospital, School of Medicine, Aristotle
reaching pathological levels. The prevalence of PTSD, University of Thessaloniki, Greece, under the approval
major depressive disorder, and anxiety in survivors number 34191. Human subjects were involved, and written
is anticipated to be higher than average. These three permission was obtained from each of the subjects to
extremely burdensome, non-communicable conditions are participate in the study.
all associated with disability. Additionally, depression has Consent for publication
been linked to a significantly increased risk of both cause-
specific and overall mortality. 23 Human subjects were involved, and written permission

COVID-19 infection has profound and concerning was obtained from each of the subjects to publish their
effects on mental health. In efforts to mitigate the long-term data and/or images.
23
impact of the disease, particularly among those with pre- Availability of data
existing mental health conditions, systemic assessments of
psychopathological symptoms in COVID-19 survivors are Data cannot be shared publicly due to the sensitive nature
recommended. Continuous monitoring of psychological of the research.
adjustment and quality of life over time is crucial. Given
its central role in recovery, quality of life should be a key References
consideration in both clinical management and future 1. Jin S, Lu X, Xu C. COVID-19 induces gastrointestinal
research efforts. 38-40 symptoms and affects patients’ prognosis. J Int Med Res.

Volume 3 Issue 4 (2025) 82 doi: 10.36922/JCBP025040007