A pioneering study carried out by doctors at the Villarrobledo Hospital (Albacete) has determined that the state of fragility of patients hospitalized for Covid-19 is an important risk factor for the onset of depression in these people. The results of the study, entitled “Frailty as a Risk Factor for Depression after Covid-19 Hospital Admission”, have been published in the international journal “Geriatrics”, indexed in PubMed (a resource developed by the United States National Library of Medicine) with an impact factor of 2.1, the Ministry of Health reported this Thursday in a press release.
He also indicated that this study stands out for being one of the few that has integrated clinical, analytical and radiological variables with a neuropsychological assessment in a predictive model, which emphasizes the importance of implementing preventive measures for both frailty and depression in these patients.
The Ministry of Health added that the research has involved a multidisciplinary effort, which has had the collaboration of professionals from the Geriatrics, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Radiodiagnosis services of the Villarrobledo General Hospital.
The study was initiated during the first wave of Covid-19 by doctors Isabel Soler, Sergio Salmerón and Silvia Lozoya, from the Geriatrics Service, and included 79 patients admitted to the hospital, of whom 65 percent were men with an average age of 69 years.
Patients were assessed upon discharge from hospital and six months later, using a comprehensive clinical assessment, two complete neuropsychological assessments (including the PHQ-9 scale for depression), laboratory tests, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, frailty assessment (FRAIL scale) and a nutritional assessment (CONUT scale).
Factors associated with depression six months after admission for COVID-19 included frailty, the presence of small vessel vascular disease on MRI, the use of antidepressants (for reasons other than depression, such as insomnia), and vitamin D levels.
In turn, a higher score on the CAMCOG (Cambridge Cognitive Examination) cognitive scale and an older age were found as protective factors.
