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Neuropsychiatric Risk After COVID-19 On Par With Other Severe Respiratory Infections
Risks of new-onset neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and dementia, were similarly increased in adults surviving COVID-19 hospitalization and adults surviving hospitalization for other severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) compared with the general population. Researchers published their findings online ahead of print in JAMA Psychiatry.
“Although post–COVID-19 syndrome is of legitimate topical interest in the current context of uncertainty regarding optimal support for survivors of COVID-19, our results suggest that from the perspective of formally diagnosed or treated neuropsychiatric complications, severe COVID-19 does not predicate markedly different morbidity rates than other forms of SARI,” wrote lead author Ashley Kieran Clift, MA, MBBS, of the University of Oxford, and coauthors.
The study included health data for more than 8 million adults in England. Among them, 16,679 survived a hospital admission for SARI, and 32,525 survived a hospital admission for COVID-19.
Related: Coronavirus Fears Contribute to Increased Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents
Survivors of SARI and COVID-19 hospitalization had higher risks of neuropsychiatric diagnoses over the next 12 months relative to the general population, the study showed. Hazard ratios for anxiety were 1.86 for adults who survived SARI and 2.36 for adults who survived severe COVID-19 compared with the wider population. Hazard ratios for dementia were 2.55 for survivors of SARI and 2.63 for survivors of severe COVID-19.
The study found similar results for new prescriptions of related medications after hospital discharge. Hazard ratios for a first antidepressant prescription were 2.55 for survivors of SARI and 3.24 for survivors of severe COVID-19. Hazard ratios for a first hypnotic/anxiolytic prescription were 3.10 for survivors of SARI and 3.79 for survivors of COVID-19.
Between survivor groups, adults who experienced severe COVID-19–related hospitalization had a 20% lower risk of receiving a first antipsychotic prescription.
“These results may help refine our understanding of the postsevere COVID-19 phenotype,” researchers wrote, “and may inform postdischarge support for patients requiring hospital-based and intensive care for SARI regardless of causative pathogen.”
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