Abstract
Individuals affected by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) may experience psychiatric symptoms, including depression and suicidal ideation, that could lead to chronic impairment and a reduction in quality of life. Specifically, depressive disorder shows high incidence and may lead to chronic impairment and a reduction in the quality of life. To date, no studies on the presence of suicidality and quantitative analysis of depressive symptoms and their risk factors have yet been published. In this study, we aim to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms and related risk factors at 3 months after discharge to home care following hospitalization for COVID-19 infection. Methods: Participants were contacted three months after hospital discharge from one of the five COVID-19 hospitals in Rome, as part of a larger project on health outcomes in COVID-19 inpatients (Long Term Neuropsychiatric Disorder in COVID-19 Project), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was administered by telephone interview. Results: Of 115 participants, 14.8% (N = 17) received a PHQ-9-based diagnosis of depression, and n = 7 of them scored 1 or more on the item on suicidality. A linear regression model showed the predictive role of female sex, pulmonary chronic condition and previous mental disorder in the development of depressive disorder; the latter was confirmed also by binary logistic regression. Severity indexes of disease (length of hospitalization and intensive care treatment) were found not to be associated with the development of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: A small but clinically meaningful number of participants in the current study reported that they experienced symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation 3 months post-discharge from their COVID-19 hospitalization. In particular, given the findings that a history of prior psychiatric disorders was predictive of the development of depression symptoms, clinicians should carefully monitor for the presence of all psychiatric symptoms at follow-up visits.
Highlights
Since December 2019, the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), has rapidly spread around the world [1]
A total of 183 consecutive participants discharged to home care during the study time span were assessed for eligibility
No significant differences in sociodemographic variables were found between participants who were recruited and those lost during recruitment in age
Summary
(SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), has rapidly spread around the world [1]. Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 range from an asymptomatic disease to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan failure and shock and can lead to death in up to 25–62% of critically ill patients [3,4,5,6]. Previous data on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infection showed that coronavirus is associated with sustained mental disorders and long-lasting neuropsychiatric consequences [8]. COVID-19 individuals have shown symptoms of psychological distress that may lead to chronic impairment and a reduction in their quality of life; emerging evidence has shown that, following hospitalization, these individuals are at high risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [9,10]
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