Illness anxiety: The missing point of the COVID-19 pandemic

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was confirmed as global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) by 11 March 2020.

 Data was collected from all the emergency medicine staff working in two referral main centers for COVID-19 affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran. The participants were enrolled in the study six months after the first COVID-19 hospitalization and the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CDAS) was used.

 According to our results, while 46 (20.7%) participants had a moderate anxiety score, 26 (11.7%) had a severe anxiety score.

 The results of this study showed that emergency department staff are at risk of developing an Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD). During the COVID-19 pandemic, more research should be done on these groups.