RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Anxiety and depression symptoms after COVID-19 infection: results from the COVID Symptom Study app
JF Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
JO J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 1254
OP 1258
DO 10.1136/jnnp-2021-327565
VO 92
IS 12
A1 Kerstin Klaser
A1 Ellen J Thompson
A1 Long H Nguyen
A1 Carole H Sudre
A1 Michela Antonelli
A1 Benjamin Murray
A1 Liane S Canas
A1 Erika Molteni
A1 Mark S Graham
A1 Eric Kerfoot
A1 Liyuan Chen
A1 Jie Deng
A1 Anna May
A1 Christina Hu
A1 Andy Guest
A1 Somesh Selvachandran
A1 David A Drew
A1 Marc Modat
A1 Andrew T Chan
A1 Jonathan Wolf
A1 Tim D Spector
A1 Alexander Hammers
A1 Emma L Duncan
A1 Sebastien Ourselin
A1 Claire J Steves
YR 2021
UL http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/12/1254.abstract
AB Background Mental health issues have been reported after SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, comparison to prevalence in uninfected individuals and contribution from common risk factors (eg, obesity and comorbidities) have not been examined. We identified how COVID-19 relates to mental health in the large community-based COVID Symptom Study.Methods We assessed anxiety and depression symptoms using two validated questionnaires in 413148 individuals between February and April 2021; 26998 had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. We adjusted for physical and mental prepandemic comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), age and sex.Findings Overall, 26.4% of participants met screening criteria for general anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression were slightly more prevalent in previously SARS-CoV-2-positive (30.4%) vs SARS-CoV-2-negative (26.1%) individuals. This association was small compared with the effect of an unhealthy BMI and the presence of other comorbidities, and not evident in younger participants (≤40 years). Findings were robust to multiple sensitivity analyses. Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and anxiety and depression was stronger in individuals with recent (<30 days) versus more distant (>120 days) infection, suggesting a short-term effect.Interpretation A small association was identified between SARS-CoV-2 infection and anxiety and depression symptoms. The proportion meeting criteria for self-reported anxiety and depression disorders is only slightly higher than prepandemic.