The following is a summary of “Preexisting Neuropsychiatric Conditions and Associated Risk of Severe COVID-19 Infection and Other Acute Respiratory Infections,” published in the November 2022 issue of Psychiatry by Ranger, et al.

Evidence suggested that preexisting neuropsychiatric disorders enhanced the chance of serious COVID-19 infection outcomes. Uncertainty existed over how the elevated risk related to hazards connected to other serious acute respiratory infections (SARIs). For a study, researchers sought to ascertain if severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection and other SARIs were connected with prior neuropsychiatric diagnosis and/or treatment and to see if any detected connection was comparable between the two outcomes.

Prepandemic (2015–2020) and modern (2020–2021) longitudinal cohorts were created using the English primary care records database QResearch. In April 2022, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 99% CIs were calculated using flexible parametric survival models and grouped by primary care clinic. All persons in the database who had been enrolled in a primary care clinic for at least a year were included in this population-based sample for the study. Electronic medical records from primary care practices were analyzed.

A total of 11,34,789 people (223,569 SARI cases [2.0%]) with a median (IQR) age of 42 (29-58) years made up the prepandemic cohort, of which 5,644,525 (50.7%) were female. The current cohort consisted of 8,388,956 people (58,203 severe COVID-19 cases [0.7%]), with a median (IQR) age of 48 (34-63) years and 4,207,192 males (50.2%). In SARI (anxiety diagnosis: HR, 1.16; 99% CI, 1.13-1.18; psychotic disorder diagnosis and treatment: HR, 2.56; 99% CI, 2.40-2.72) and COVID-19 (anxiety diagnosis: HR, 1.16; 99% CI, 1.12-1.20; psychotic disorder treatment: HR, 2.37; 99% CI, 2.20-2.55), diagnosis and/or treatment for neuropsychiatric conditions other than dementia were linked to an increased likelihood of a severe outcome. Those who had COVID-19 compared favorably to those who had SARI in terms of the effect estimate for a severe outcome with dementia (HR, 2.85; 99% CI, 2.71-3.00 vs. HR, 2.13; 99% CI, 2.07-2.19).

In the longitudinal cohort research, UK patients were found to be at an elevated risk of severe COVID-19 infection and SARI outcomes, with the exception of dementia, when they had prior neuropsychiatric illnesses and therapies.

Reference: jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2798511