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COVID-19 and Mental Illness

Associations between COVID-19 and Psychiatric Disorder

    While there has been significant research on the physical risk factors for COVID-19, much less is known about the psychiatric, or mental health risk factors for the virus. Poor mental health, including anxiety and depression, are predicted adverse outcomes of COVID-19 but these effects have not been accurately measured or well studied. However, a group of researchers from Oxford University recently published a study in The Lancet where they analyzed the relationship between COVID-19 diagnosis and psychiatric disorder, and how a history of mental illness affects COVID-19.

Likelihood of Developing Psychiatric Disorder after COVID-19 Infection

    Using a global network that captures data from 54 health-care organizations in the United States, researchers collected anonymized data from 62,354 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and other diseases between January 20 and August 1, 2020. Researchers compared the likelihood of patients (with no history of mental illness) developing a psychiatric disorder following an infection of different types of diseases including COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory tract infections. It was found that the risk of developing a first psychiatric disorder was greatest following a COVID-19 infection compared to the other diseases. Up to 90 days after diagnosis, 5.8% of COVID-19 patients with no history of mental illnesses were identified with a psychiatric disorder. In comparison, 3.4% of patients with other respiratory tract infections and 2.8% of influenza patients developed a psychiatric disorder for the first time. Researchers have estimated that the probability of developing a psychiatric illness after COVID-19 infection (regardless of psychiatric history) is 18.1%, a significantly higher percentage compared to the other illnesses.

    The most common type of newly diagnosed psychiatric illness after COVID-19 infection was anxiety disorder, with a probability outcome of 4.7%. Other common first psychiatric diagnoses were insomnia (1.9%) and mood disorder (2%) .

Effects of Psychiatric Disorder Prior to COVID-19 Infection

    The study has identified that COVID-19 infection can increase risk of mental illness in patients who have no psychiatric history. But how does a psychiatric disorder affect COVID-19 infection? Findings from the study indicate that having a psychiatric disorder the year before the coronavirus outbreak was associated with a 65% increased risk of COVID-19 compared to individuals without psychiatric diagnoses. Researchers believe a possible explanation for this increased risk to the virus is that vulnerability to COVID-19 is increased with inflammation, which typically occurs in some forms of psychiatric disorder.

Summary and Implications

    To summarize, the study has found that patients with COVID-19 are at a higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder regardless of whether or not the patient has a history of mental illness. To the researchers surprise, having a psychiatric disorder drastically increases COVID-19 risk. Although it is unclear why this is the case, these findings further highlight the importance of mental health, especially during the pandemic. Clinicians should check up on the mental health of COVID-19 patients, even if they may not have a history of psychiatric disorder. To stay safe during the pandemic, it's important to take care of both our physical and mental health.

Sources

1. Taquet, Maxime, et al. “Bidirectional Associations between COVID-19 and ...” The Lancet Psychiatry, 9 Nov. 2020, www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30462-4/fulltext. 

2. “CDC Library: COVID-19 Science Update: 12/8/2020.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 Dec. 2020, www.cdc.gov/library/covid19/120820_covidupdate.html. 

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