Psychiatric disorders during pregnancy in asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive women: Prevalence and effect on outcome

Abstract

The effect of psychiatric comorbidity on pregnancy outcome among SARS-CoV-2 positive women with asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic infections remains largely unknown. We reviewed the electronic medical records of all pregnant women who received care at Mayo Health System and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (RT-PCR) from March 2020 through October 2021. Among 789 patients, 34.2% (n = 270) had psychiatric comorbidity. Of those with psychiatric comrobidity, 62.2% (n = 168) had depression prior to pregnancy, and 5.2% (n = 14) reported new-onset depression during pregnancy. Before pregnancy, 65.6% (n = 177) had anxiety, and 4.4% (n = 12) developed anxiety during pregnancy Thirteen percent of SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnant women (n = 108) received psychotropic medication during pregnancy. In addition, 6.7% (n = 18) and 10.7% (n = 29) of pregnant women with psychiatric comorbidity had documented nicotine, cannabis and/ or illicit substance use during and prior to pregnancy, respectively. We depicted a significantly higher risk for cesarean delivery [35.6% vs. 24.9%) in asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnant women with psychiatric comorbidity. In conclusion, the prevalence rates of depression, anxiety, and prescribed antidepressant medications during pregnancy among asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected women were substantially higher than average, which negatively impacted pregnancy and neonatal outcomes.