Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles
IntroductionPreventive measures have been implemented in hospitals during COVID-19, but how these guidelines affected mental health among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains to be determined. On another note, reliable psychological and blood-based markers are needed to promptly identify HCWs at-risk t...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1560129/full |
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| author | Coraline Canivet Thalie Hébert Eric Boilard Eric Boilard Charles M. Morin Charles M. Morin Jessica Deslauriers Jessica Deslauriers |
| author_facet | Coraline Canivet Thalie Hébert Eric Boilard Eric Boilard Charles M. Morin Charles M. Morin Jessica Deslauriers Jessica Deslauriers |
| author_sort | Coraline Canivet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionPreventive measures have been implemented in hospitals during COVID-19, but how these guidelines affected mental health among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains to be determined. On another note, reliable psychological and blood-based markers are needed to promptly identify HCWs at-risk to develop distress. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) originating from brain cross the blood–brain barrier and are detectable in blood, giving them a highly valuable potential for biomarker discovery. In HCWs with or without psychological distress, we investigated how perceived stress during COVID-19 impacted mental health. We then longitudinally evaluated the inflammatory cargo from neuron-, astrocyte-, and microglial-derived EVs that may be associated with psychological distress.MethodsOur prospective study that included an initial visit (02/2021–08/2021), and two follow-up visits 3 and 6 months later (last visit; 03/2022). HCWs (n = 15) completed questionnaires for perception of risk, COVID-19-specific posttraumatic symptomatology, psychological distress and burnout, as well as sleep quality. Blood was collected at each visit to characterizing inflammation from brain-derived EVs. Multiple regressions were conducted for all psychological/biological parameters based on the HCWs’ final score for psychological distress.ResultsOnset of psychological distress was associated early hyperarousal. Moreover, severe distress was associated with increased astrocyte-specific levels of anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 and pro-inflammatory interferon-ɣ.DiscussionOur findings—that need to be replicated in larger studies—suggest that early hyperarousal may be predictive of later onset of psychological distress in HCWs. They also unravel a novel area of biomarker discovery study in psychiatry as inflammation from brain-derived EVs could help targeting “at-risk” individuals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c4e9c4d8aef840508cb83a3b201bbebe |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-c4e9c4d8aef840508cb83a3b201bbebe2025-08-21T04:10:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-08-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15601291560129Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesiclesCoraline Canivet0Thalie Hébert1Eric Boilard2Eric Boilard3Charles M. Morin4Charles M. Morin5Jessica Deslauriers6Jessica Deslauriers7Neurosciences Axis, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CRCHU) de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, QC, CanadaNeurosciences Axis, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CRCHU) de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, QC, CanadaInfectious and Inflammatory Diseases Axis, CRCHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, QC, CanadaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Laval, QC, CanadaCERVO Brain Research Centre, Québec City, QC, CanadaPsychology School, Université Laval, Québec City, QC, CanadaNeurosciences Axis, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CRCHU) de Québec-Université Laval, Québec City, QC, CanadaFaculty of Pharmacy, Université Laval, Québec, QC, CanadaIntroductionPreventive measures have been implemented in hospitals during COVID-19, but how these guidelines affected mental health among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains to be determined. On another note, reliable psychological and blood-based markers are needed to promptly identify HCWs at-risk to develop distress. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) originating from brain cross the blood–brain barrier and are detectable in blood, giving them a highly valuable potential for biomarker discovery. In HCWs with or without psychological distress, we investigated how perceived stress during COVID-19 impacted mental health. We then longitudinally evaluated the inflammatory cargo from neuron-, astrocyte-, and microglial-derived EVs that may be associated with psychological distress.MethodsOur prospective study that included an initial visit (02/2021–08/2021), and two follow-up visits 3 and 6 months later (last visit; 03/2022). HCWs (n = 15) completed questionnaires for perception of risk, COVID-19-specific posttraumatic symptomatology, psychological distress and burnout, as well as sleep quality. Blood was collected at each visit to characterizing inflammation from brain-derived EVs. Multiple regressions were conducted for all psychological/biological parameters based on the HCWs’ final score for psychological distress.ResultsOnset of psychological distress was associated early hyperarousal. Moreover, severe distress was associated with increased astrocyte-specific levels of anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 and pro-inflammatory interferon-ɣ.DiscussionOur findings—that need to be replicated in larger studies—suggest that early hyperarousal may be predictive of later onset of psychological distress in HCWs. They also unravel a novel area of biomarker discovery study in psychiatry as inflammation from brain-derived EVs could help targeting “at-risk” individuals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1560129/fullhealthcare workerspreventive measurespsychological distressinsomniajob stressextracellular vesicles |
| spellingShingle | Coraline Canivet Thalie Hébert Eric Boilard Eric Boilard Charles M. Morin Charles M. Morin Jessica Deslauriers Jessica Deslauriers Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles Frontiers in Public Health healthcare workers preventive measures psychological distress insomnia job stress extracellular vesicles |
| title | Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles |
| title_full | Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles |
| title_fullStr | Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles |
| title_short | Mental health among healthcare workers during COVID-19: a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood-based extracellular vesicles |
| title_sort | mental health among healthcare workers during covid 19 a study to oversee the impact of the risk perception and relationship with inflammation from blood based extracellular vesicles |
| topic | healthcare workers preventive measures psychological distress insomnia job stress extracellular vesicles |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1560129/full |
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