Underlying Mental Illness and Risk of Severe Outcomes Associated With COVID-19
Angelica Castro1, Hong-Yen Vi1
1Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, North Chicago, Illinois.
Insights
Individuals with depression or schizophrenia experienced more hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, though not significantly. This study highlights potential disparities in care for these vulnerable populations.
Area of Science:
- Medical research
- Infectious disease epidemiology
- Mental health outcomes
Background:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies depression and schizophrenia as risk factors for severe COVID-19.
- High-risk patients are often eligible for outpatient therapies like antivirals.
- These conditions were not recognized as risk factors at a specific federal health care center, impacting treatment eligibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if depression and/or schizophrenia influence the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
- To assess the impact of these mental health conditions on patient outcomes following mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study design.
- Analysis of outcomes in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.
- Primary outcome: severe COVID-19 outcomes (hospitalization, ICU admission, intubation, mechanical ventilation, or death within 30 days).
Main Results:
- Patients with depression or schizophrenia showed higher rates of hospitalization and death.
- The observed differences in severe outcomes between groups were not statistically significant (P = .36).
- All recorded deaths within 30 days occurred in patients with depression or schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
- While trends suggested increased hospitalizations and deaths in patients with depression and schizophrenia, the findings lacked statistical significance.
- Further research may be needed to clarify the impact of these comorbidities on COVID-19 severity and outcomes.
Background:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression and schizophrenia, among other conditions, put individuals at high risk for severe COVID-19 infection. Patients at high risk often are eligible for outpatient therapies, such as antiviral and monoclonal antibody therapies, to prevent severe infection. However, depression and schizophrenia are not considered risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois, making patients with these conditions ineligible for outpatient therapy unless they have another high-risk condition.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study assessed outcomes among patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 to determine whether depression and/or schizophrenia impacted the risk of severe disease or negative outcomes. The primary outcome was severe COVID-19 outcomes defined as hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death within 30 days of infection.
Results:
Patients with depression or schizophrenia had more hospitalizations and deaths, but this difference was not statistically significant (P = .36). Death within 30 days of COVID-19 infection only occurred in patients with depression or schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
Although there were more hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 within 30 days of infection among patients with depression and schizophrenia compared with individuals without these disorders, this finding was not statistically significant.
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