Factors Associated with Depression in Post-Covid-19 Patients: A Tool for Prediction of Depression in Neurotropic Viral Infections

Abstract

Background: Post-COVID-19 patients might be at higher risk of developing long-term depression. Objectives: to determine risk factors associated with depression among COVID-19 long-haulers. Methodology: This is a retrospective cohort study of 510 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 subjects. Integrative Classification for Defining Post-COVID-19 Symptoms was used in this study to define post COVID-19 syndrome. Depression severity was assessed for all patients during the long-term period of symptoms using PHQ-9 scale. Factors associated with depression were analyzed for all patients using SPSS V22. Results: This retrospective cohort study involved 510 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients. They were 73 % females. Average age of participants was 27.2±11.38 years old. Almost 92.5 % of subjects suffered from long-term COVID-19 symptoms. A hundred- fifteen patients (22.5 %) suffered from depression. There was a significant relationship between number of symptoms, gender, and depression at p value < 0.001 for each factor. There was a significant relationship between first symptom(s) patient suffered from, type of respiratory symptoms, both ageusia and anosmia, and depression, at p value < 0.001, for each factor. The odds of depression in females were 3 times more than males, p=0.012 and 1.15 in patients with increased number of symptoms, p=0.036. The odds of depression for patients with ageusia and anosmia, or who had a cluster of symptoms were 25 and 32, p=0.041, and 0.025, respectively. In contrast, headache and dizziness, anosmia alone, or GIT symptoms as first symptom (s), decreases risk of developing depression markedly, p=0.027, 0.033, and 0.014, respectively. Conclusions: Depression among post-COVID-19 patients was associated with female gender, number of symptoms suffered during the acute phase, ageusia and anosmia, and cluster of symptoms.