Mental Health Disorders Tied to Higher COVID-19 Mortality

Findings show even higher risk among those with severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorders

WEDNESDAY, July 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Mental health disorders are associated with increased COVID-19-related mortality, according to a review published online July 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Guillaume Fond, M.D., Ph.D., from Aix-Marseille University in France, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to determine whether patients with mental health disorders were at increased risk for COVID-19 mortality compared with patients without mental health disorders.

Based on 16 identified studies (19,086 patients with mental health disorders from seven countries), the researchers found that COVID-19 mortality was associated with an increased risk among patients with mental health disorders versus patients without mental health disorders. Findings were similar in both a pooled crude analysis (odds ratio [OR], 1.75) and adjusted analysis (OR, 1.38). The risk for death was even higher among patients with severe mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorders (crude OR: 2.26; adjusted OR: 1.67).

“These findings suggest that patients with COVID-19 and mental health disorders should be targeted as a high-risk population for severe forms of COVID-19, requiring enhanced preventive and disease management strategies,” the authors write.