Section - Quick Takes

05. Association of Psychiatric Disorders With Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19

Published on May 1, 2021 Expired on April 1, 2024

James Phelps, M.D.

Research Editor - Psychopharmacology Institute

Key Points

When infected with the COVID-19 virus, patients who have a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis are 2.7 times more likely to die than people without that diagnosis, even after correcting for concurrent risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart and lung diseases.

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Is a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum, mood, or anxiety disorders associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19? This seems like a straightforward question that could be addressed epidemiologically. So, what do you think? Which one—psychosis, mood, or anxiety—is associated with increased risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19? All 3? None?

Hi! Jim Phelps here for the Psychopharmacology Institute. Let’s look at a JAMA Psychiatry article that did this epidemiologic work. Katlyn Nemani and several colleagues looked at records of just over 700 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in their academic medical center’s database. Using claims data and hospital problem lists, they identified a subset with psychiatric diagnoses, which included thought disorder, mood disorder, anxiety disorder, or other psychiatric disorders, such as substance use. In this paper, they report mortality data associated with COVID-19. Is there a difference for people with psychiatric diagnosis vs the reference group?

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Learning Objectives:

After completing this activity, the learner will be able to:

Examine the rationale and data behind the consideration of chlorpromazine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 infection.
Assess the clinical implications of strong positive results from a randomized trial of psilocybin in patients with major depressive disorder.
Broaden the view of “what’s different about someone’s brain when they’re depressed” to include recent research on the “functional connectome.”
Examine new data on the efficacy of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar depression.
Compare the mortality rates of patients with COVID-19 who also have psychotic, mood, or anxiety disorders vs a reference population.

Original Release Date: 05/01/2021

Review Date: 03/01/2024

Expiration Date: 04/01/2024

Relevant Financial Disclosures:

The following planners, faculty, and reviewers have the following relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose:

Dr. Phelps has disclosed the following relationships:

McGraw-Hill: book on bipolar disorder
W.W. Norton & Co.: books on bipolar disorder

All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

Contact Information: For questions regarding the content or access to this activity, contact us at support@psychopharmacologyinstitute.com

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