Abstract Background: The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has strongly affected the young population, with a significant impact on their mental health, lifestyle, and sleep. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of COVID-19 on oral health and general hygiene habits in an undergraduate medical school population. Methods: A total of 500 participants, including pre-graduate students from the School of Medicine with a mean age of 22.84 ± 2.68 years completed an anonymous web survey. Of these, 200 belonged to the schools of dental hygiene and dentistry and 300 belonged to the medical school. Results: Students suffered from increased stress and emotional distress, which led to an increase in weight in 48.6% of the subjects. A reduction in personal and dental hygiene (8% and 4%, respectively) was observed. Students in dentistry and dental hygiene courses were more careful about their dental hygiene. Students from the dentistry and dental hygiene courses reported an increase in the use of chlorhexidine mouthwash during quarantine (+ 15%). Conclusion: Pandemic-related stress has affected the youth, with an increase in unhealthy lifestyle and changes in dental hygiene habits. Strong action must be taken to promote good oral hygiene habits and a healthy lifestyle among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the WHO defined the diffusion of novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) as pandemic, the global effort has been on finding a cure and preventing transmission. As a consequence, people are going through many psychological problems in adjusting to the current lifestyles and fear of the disease. The link between the psychological effects of quarantine and arrhythmias has been poorly explored. However it is known that sudden catastrophic events i.e. earthquake are associated with an increase in sudden cardiac deaths. Acute stress and anxiety could act as a trigger for ventricular arrhythmias, which are found to have increased significantly after an earthquake. Quarantine induced a chronic stress enforced by alarming news reports in the media. Closure of businesses increased the stress due the expected crisis after the lockdown. Stress activates both the sympathetic nervous system and the axis of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, leading to an increased risk of cardiac events. The aim of the present editorial is to analyze the potential impact of quarantine –induced stress on the development of arrhythmias.