Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : July 19, 2021 11:44 AM IST
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have known that the elderly and patients with underlying health conditions are at a higher risk of dying from the viral disease. People with heart conditions, diabetics, hypertensive patients and those suffering from cancer were asked to take extra precautions. But, by and large, people with mental conditions were not under the radar of health professionals. But now, a new study at the University of Paris Est Creteil, France, finds that such patients are extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus. According to researchers of this study, the odds of dying or being hospitalised following COVID-19 infection in individuals with psychiatric disorders are twice as high in comparison to persons without mental disorders. The peer-reviewed journal Lancet Psychiatry published this study.
For the purpose of the study, researchers compiled data from 33 studies spanning across 22 countries, comprising 1,469,731 patients with Covid-19. Of these, 43,938 patients had mental disorders. They saw that people with psychotic disorders and mood disorders were the most vulnerable groups for Covid-19-associated mortality. But such patients, though they have the highest mortality risk, did not have increased risk of hospital admission. Patients who were receiving treatment with antipsychotics or anxiolytics (anxiety reducing drugs) also appeared to be very vulnerable. Patients with substance use disorders were also at increased risk for hospitalisation following Covid-19 infection.
Researchers say that antipsychotics might increase cardiovascular and thromboembolic risks, interfere with an adequate immune response, and cause interactions with drugs used to treat Covid-19. Benzodiazepines, psychoactive drugs, are associated with respiratory risk, and are known to be associated with all-cause mortality. However, researchers were quick to point out that some antidepressants were recently shown to have protective effects.
According to the researchers, social and lifestyle factors such as diet, physical inactivity, social isolation, high alcohol and tobacco use, and sleep disturbances, and a higher prevalence of somatic comorbidities might also have detrimental effects on Covid-19 prognosis.
In view of the results of this study, researchers stress on the need for national and international health authorities to take concerted action to help this particular patient group. It is important to prioritise vaccination to patients with severe mental illness, intellectual disability, and substance use disorders. It is important to highlight the urgency of actions to counteract possible reduced access to care. Close monitoring and adequate hospital referral in patients with psychiatric disorders who develop Covid-19 is needed to counteract possible reduced access to care.
(With inputs from IANS)
