Patients with mental health disorders are at higher risk for developing severe cases of COVID-19, according to new research published in JAMA Psychiatry.

“Patients with mental health disorders can have multiple comorbidities that have been identified as risk factors for severe COVID-19: diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive respiratory disease, and end-stage kidney disease,” wrote Guillaume Fond, MD, PhD, Aix-Marseille University, CEReSS-Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center, Marseille, France, and coresearchers.

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, researchers aimed to see if there was an association between COVID-19–related deaths and mental health when compared with patients without mental health disorders, and if patients with mental health disorders should be targeted as high-risk for severe COVID-19.

Data were gathered from inception to February 12, 2021, through MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar to find eligible population-based cohort studies mapping the relationship between COVID-19–related deaths and mental health disorders. Of 18 200 identified studies, 16 studies across 7 countries, including Demark, France, Israel, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States met the inclusion criteria. Data collected from 19 086 patients were included across all studies.

Researchers calculated pooled crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) to find the association between mental health disorders and COVID-19 mortality. A 3-level, random-effects (study/country) approach with a hierarchical structure was implemented in case of overlap in various study observations.

According to pooled crude OR and adjusted OR, patients with mental health disorders were at an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality when compared with patients without mental health disorders. Patients with severe mental health disorders showed the highest rates of risk.

“Patients with mental health disorders should have been targeted as a high-risk population for severe forms of COVID-19, requiring enhanced preventive and disease management strategies.” Fond et al concluded. “Future studies should more accurately evaluate the risk for patients with each mental health disorder. However, the highest risk seemed to be found in studies including individuals with schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorders.”

Reference

Fond G, Nemani K, Etchecopar-Etchart D. Association between mental health disorders and mortality among patients with COVID-19 in 7 countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online July 27, 2021. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.2274