1758 Wiadomości Lekarskie, VOLUME LXXIV, ISSUE 7, JULY 2021 © Aluna Publishing INTRODUCTION The pandemic crisis of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID-19) has brought enormous societal pressure worldwide. For example, in Germany as many as 30% of respondents feared a pandemic [1], and in Poland the percentage of young adults (18-35 years old) sufering from depressed mood increased from 16.2% to 36.6% [2]. Yet, difcult situations may not only lead to various types of disorders, fears, anxieties and feelings of loss. Tey can also lead to positive changes, even to devel- opment or growth afer experienced trauma, to positive adaptation, to changes in self-perception, changes in interpersonal relations or philosophy of life [3]. People who have experienced sufering can change their per- ception of reality, perceiving its diferent dimension. Terefore, experiencing difcult situations may lead to transforming the experienced sufering and loss into an important, positive value for a specifc individual, but also into searching for more efective ways of medical or psychological interventions [4, 5]. COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus, is a major global human threat and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization as of 11 March 2020 [6- 10]. Te disease caused by this new strand of coronoavirus has high morbidity and mortality in the elderly and in comorbid populations [7, 8]. According to the published data, older patients with underlying clinical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease tend to be vulnerable to COVID-19 and display more severity clinical course of the illness [9]. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an increasingly prev- alent condition, recognized as a public health priority, afecting 10-12% of the population [10, 11]. Chronic kidney disease and kidney end-stage renal disease (ESRD) consti- tute a clinical problem worlddwide. Tus, if CKD patients were to populate a separate country, its population would be the third largest in the world [5, 6]. CKD and uremic patients on maintenance dialysis are exposed not only to a higher comorbidity and poor quality of life, but also to a high overall mortality, mainly due to pre- mature cardiovascular disease (CVD) and infections [9-12]. Patients with uremia receiving maintenance hemodial- ysis are particularly susceptible to infections because of multiple comorbidities (such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease, malnutrition) and immune dysregulation compared with general population [12]. Te uremia state is associated with impairment of THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL RESILIENCE AGAINST LONELINESS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS DOI: 10.36740/WLek202107134 Urszula Ołdakowska-Jedynak 1 , Maria Ryś 2 , Tomasz Sztajerwald 2 , Jolanta Malyszko 1 1 NEPHROLOGY, DIALYSIS AND INTERNAL MEDICINE, WARSAW MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, WARSAW, POLAND 2 INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY, CARDINAL STEFAN WYSZYŃSKI UNIVERSITY, WARSAW, POLAND ABSTRACT The pandemic crisis of COVID-19 has caused anxiety and depressive symptoms to increase in many people worldwide. Yet, difcult situations may not only lead to various types of disorders, fears, anxieties and feelings of loss. They can also lead to positive changes, even to development or growth after experienced trauma, to positive adaptation, to changes in self-perception, changes in interpersonal relations or philosophy of life. Patients with chronic kidney disease, especially those on renal replacement therapy, often experience severe psychological problems such as anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, or difculties related to coping with excessive stress. The aim of our review is to disscus the appropriatness of mental health screening tools in patients with chronic kidney disease, including those on dialyses, during COVID-19 pandemic. Recently published studies indicate the limited available data evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of screening tools for mental status in patients with chronic kidney disease. This, it seems reasonable to stress the mental health associations with situational stress in this group of patients during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It is also worth pointing out the need to research the impact of the mental disorders in this population on morbidity and mortality, taking into account other organ complications and the quality of life of patients not only during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It is worth to to make every efort to reduce the severity of the anxiety and feelings of hopelessness in dialysis patients, to cope with the pandemic. KEY WORDS: mental health, pandemic during COCID-19, end-stage renal disease, renal replacement therapy Wiad Lek. 2021;74(7):1758-1762 REVIEW ARTICLE