Schizophrenia appears as a new risk factor in mortality from Covid-19, according to a correlational study published this week in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The disorder even outperforms other established factors such as diabetes or being male.
That the coronavirus has increased mental health problems is a reality. There are numerous investigations that have found an increase in symptoms of anxiety or depression due to the pandemic. Sleep disorders are another great protagonist in the lives of many people nowadays.
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But what about the reverse? Can a previous mental health disorder influence the course of covid? Some studies have shown a higher incidence of infection in people with mental disorders, especially depression and schizophrenia.
For this reason, the team of doctors and researchers led by psychiatrist Donald C. Goff wanted to evaluate the association between different types of psychiatric disorders and mortality in adults with covid. The study was carried out in the hospital network of the University of New York (USA).
The sample included 7,348 adults diagnosed with coronavirus infection between March and May 2020. Of these, 75 patients had a previous history of schizophrenia, 564 had mood disorders -including depression- and 360 suffered from anxiety disorders .
Other variables
Only age surpassed schizophrenia as a risk factor
As the diagnosis had been made prior to the infection, it was possible to rule out that it was psychological sequelae from the pandemic. These patients were followed up for 45 days after being confirmed positive by PCR.
People with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis had a significantly higher risk of mortality, something that did not occur in the other disorders. The relationship appeared even after controlling for other possible variables that could affect coronavirus infection such as race or certain medical conditions. In fact, only age surpassed schizophrenia among the factors currently related to a worse course of covid.
Medication and poverty as possible causes
Antipsychotic medication taken by these patients and their own bodies could mediate the results, the authors say. Regarding the first, they recognize that it was not evaluated in the research andThis class of drugs very often creates metabolic problems.
“Antipsychotic medication produces a great dysregulation in the body”, explains Marino Pérez, clinical psychologist and professor of Psychopathology at the University of Oviedo, who is committed to treatment as one of the main underlying causes of the relationship found.
The socioeconomic situation experienced by people with a diagnosis is another factor that was not taken into account and that could have a great weight. “It is well known that schizophrenia is associated with socioeconomic contexts of exclusion”, says the psychologist. And poverty has been linked to a worse prognosis in Covid-19.
Socio-economic situation
Poverty has been related to a worse prognosis in Covid-19
In addition, the authors state in the text, people with psychiatric disorders are less likely to seek medical care due to demotivation, social isolation or stigma.
The next step would be to find out which factors within this population are involved in their highest mortality from covid. “It is an interesting study, but medication cannot be ruled out, nor can social conditions be ruled out as causal explanations,” concludes Pérez.
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