tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
World J Psychiatry
. 2024 Apr 19;14(4):507-512.
doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.507. Psychiatric outcomes in outpatients affected by long COVID: A link between mental health and persistence of olfactory complaint
Victoria Metelkina-Fernandez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Louise-Emilie Dumas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Clair Vandersteen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], David Chirio[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Auriane Gros[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Arnaud Fernandez[SUP] 2 6 [/SUP], Florence Askenazy[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valeria Manera[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Anosmia was one of the main symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A psychiatric history (i.e., depression) may be an independent contributor to the risk of COVID-19 diagnosis, and COVID-19 survivors appear to have an increased risk of neuropsychiatric sequelae (bidirectional association).
Aim: To compare the rate of psychiatric disorder among post-COVID patients without anosmia vs patients with persistent olfactory complaints.
Methods: We conducted a prospective case control study from March 2020 to May 2021. Patients recruited at the ENT department of Nice University Hospital had a subjective olfactory complaint (visual analogue scale) for over 6 wk and a molecular or CT-proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 diagnosis confirmed by serology. Post-COVID patients without persistent olfactory disorders were recruited at the university hospital infectiology department. Psychiatric medical histories were collected by a psychiatrist during the assessments.
Results: Thirty-four patients with post-COVID-19 olfactory complaints were included in the first group of the study. Fifty percent of the patients were female (n = 17). The group's mean age was 40.5 ± 12.9 years. The control group included 32 participants, of which 34.4% were female (n = 11), and had a mean age of 61.2 ± 12.2 years. The rate of psychiatric disorder among post-COVID patients with olfactory complaints was significatively higher (41.7%) than among patients without (18.8%) (χ[SUP]2[/SUP] = 5.9, P = 0.015).
Conclusion: The presence of a psychiatric history may constitute a potential risk factor for the development of long COVID due to persistent anosmia. It therefore seems important to establish reinforced health monitoring after a COVID 19 infection in at-risk patients. Further prospective, translational, and collaborative studies are needed to extrapolate these results to the general population.
Keywords: Anosmia; COVID-19; Neuroplasticity; Psychiatric history; Psychiatry; Stress.
. 2024 Apr 19;14(4):507-512.
doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.507. Psychiatric outcomes in outpatients affected by long COVID: A link between mental health and persistence of olfactory complaint
Victoria Metelkina-Fernandez[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Louise-Emilie Dumas[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Clair Vandersteen[SUP] 3 [/SUP], David Chirio[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Auriane Gros[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Arnaud Fernandez[SUP] 2 6 [/SUP], Florence Askenazy[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Valeria Manera[SUP] 7 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38659602
- PMCID: PMC11036454
- DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i4.507
Background: Anosmia was one of the main symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A psychiatric history (i.e., depression) may be an independent contributor to the risk of COVID-19 diagnosis, and COVID-19 survivors appear to have an increased risk of neuropsychiatric sequelae (bidirectional association).
Aim: To compare the rate of psychiatric disorder among post-COVID patients without anosmia vs patients with persistent olfactory complaints.
Methods: We conducted a prospective case control study from March 2020 to May 2021. Patients recruited at the ENT department of Nice University Hospital had a subjective olfactory complaint (visual analogue scale) for over 6 wk and a molecular or CT-proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 diagnosis confirmed by serology. Post-COVID patients without persistent olfactory disorders were recruited at the university hospital infectiology department. Psychiatric medical histories were collected by a psychiatrist during the assessments.
Results: Thirty-four patients with post-COVID-19 olfactory complaints were included in the first group of the study. Fifty percent of the patients were female (n = 17). The group's mean age was 40.5 ± 12.9 years. The control group included 32 participants, of which 34.4% were female (n = 11), and had a mean age of 61.2 ± 12.2 years. The rate of psychiatric disorder among post-COVID patients with olfactory complaints was significatively higher (41.7%) than among patients without (18.8%) (χ[SUP]2[/SUP] = 5.9, P = 0.015).
Conclusion: The presence of a psychiatric history may constitute a potential risk factor for the development of long COVID due to persistent anosmia. It therefore seems important to establish reinforced health monitoring after a COVID 19 infection in at-risk patients. Further prospective, translational, and collaborative studies are needed to extrapolate these results to the general population.
Keywords: Anosmia; COVID-19; Neuroplasticity; Psychiatric history; Psychiatry; Stress.