Anxiety and Depression in COVID Survivors - A Cross-Sectional Study Six Months Past the Acute Illness

Background Studies exploring the long-term psychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 are sparse. We aimed to assess depression and anxiety six months after recovery and the association between disease severity and psychiatric sequelae. Material and methods Our study was a comparative study conducted on COVID-19 disease survivors at a tertiary hospital. We compared Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) scores between mild (n=50), moderate (n=50), severe cases (n=50), and controls (n=50). We assessed the severity of depression and anxiety using the HDRS and the HAM-A. Cases: First-time COVID-19 survivors six months post-recovery. Cases were healthy pre-COVID. To the study date, controls were negative for COVID-19 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results Our study of 200 subjects indicated that mean (mean, SD) HAM-A scores in cases (14.7, 5.6) were higher than controls (7.9, 1.7), and HDRS scores in cases (17.3, 6.3) were higher than controls (7.5, 1.9). HAM-A scores in severe cases (19.5, 4.8) were higher than in moderate cases (17.0, 3.9), and scores in moderate cases were higher than in mild cases (10.6, 2.4). HDRS scores in severe cases (22.5, 5.9) were higher than in moderate cases (16.4, 3.2), and scores in moderate cases were higher than in mild cases (14.4, 2.5). Among the cases, there was a positive correlation between the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) scores and the duration of hospital stay, ICU stay, and use of invasive oxygen. These parameters were not applicable to the controls; hence, they were not included in the comparative analysis. Conclusions Patients, even after six months of recovery from COVID-19, had symptoms of anxiety and depression. The severity of anxiety and depression in survivors correlates with the severity of the COVID-19 disease.