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People with psychiatric disorders have been shown to be twice as likely to die or be hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 infection than those without mental disorders, according to a new study. This study, initiated by the Immuno-NeuroPsychiatry Network of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, was published in the peer-reviewed journal “Lancet Psychiatry”.
The study also found that ICU admission rates were not affected. The research compiled data from 33 studies from 22 countries, including 1,469,731 patients with COVID-19, of which 43,938 suffered from mental disorders. 23 studies were included in a random-effects meta-analysis of crude and adjusted odds ratios for COVID-19-related mortality, hospitalization, and ICU admission in people with pre-existing co-morbid mental disorders, including studying different diagnostic groups and classes of psychiatric drugs.
People with psychotic disorders and mood disorders, as well as patients receiving treatment with antipsychotics or anxiolytics (anti-anxiety drugs) emerged as the groups most vulnerable to mortality associated with COVID-19. Patients with substance use disorders were also at an increased risk of hospitalization as a result of COVID-19. The authors of the article called on national and international health authorities to take concerted action by offering priority vaccination to patients with severe mental illness, intellectual disability and substance use disorders, and to highlight the urgent action to counter a possible reduction in access to healthcare.
Corresponding author Dr Livia De Picker, Campus Duffel University Psychiatric Hospital, Belgium, said: “Together with many colleagues from national and international psychiatric associations, we have advocated for priority vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 of patients with severe mental illness. However, it quickly became evident that a lack of high-quality evidence on the risks of mortality and hospitalization of patients with mental disorders was blocking the implementation of our recommendations by policy makers. “” In several countries, calls to change the vaccination strategy have been rejected by national health authorities on the grounds that current scientific evidence does not distinguish particular groups of psychiatric patients who are at very high risk of severe Covid-19, hospitalizations, admission to intensive care and death from Covid-19. This article offers precisely that and shows that pre-existing mental disorders, in particular psychotic and mood disorders, and exposure to antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs are associated with COVID-19 mortality. With this new evidence, taking no action is no longer an option, ”added De Picker.
De Picker added: “It is important to note that our data revealed a stark contrast in patients with severe mental illness. Patients with psychotic disorders in particular were affected by the highest risk of death, but did not. had no increased risk of hospitalization.We know that these patients face significant barriers to physical health care, and our results suggest that reduced access to care may have contributed to the increased mortality observed in this group. “” Public health authorities should take targeted measures to ensure maximum vaccination for all at-risk patient groups identified in this study. Close monitoring and adequate referral to hospital of patients with psychiatric disorders that develop COVID-19 are needed to counter a possible reduction in care access, ”De Picker noted.
Author and Director of the ImmunoNeuroPsychiatry Network, Professor Marion Leboyer (University of Paris Est Créteil, France) said: “This high quality study was created through the concerted efforts of many international colleagues working together. More work is needed to determine the causes of the poor outcome of COVID-19 in psychiatric patients, which may reflect biological processes, such as immune-inflammatory alterations linked to psychiatric disorders. Leboyer added: “In particular, the impact of psychopharmacological treatments requires further study. We have found that exposure to antipsychotic and anxiolytic drug treatments initiated before contracting COVID-19 was associated with severe results from COVID-19. Antipsychotics may increase cardiovascular and thromboembolic risks, interfere with an adequate immune response, and cause interactions with drugs used to treat COVID-19. “
“Benzodiazepines are associated with respiratory risk and are known to be associated with all-cause mortality. In contrast, some antidepressants have recently been shown to have protective effects. In addition, social and lifestyle factors such as diet, physical inactivity, social isolation, heavy alcohol and tobacco consumption, sleep disturbances and a higher prevalence of somatic comorbidities could also have adverse effects on the prognosis of COVID-19, ”concluded Leboyer. (ANI)
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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