In a new study from the University of Texas, researchers found people with psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and mood disorders, are less likely to test positive for COVID-19 but have increased COVID-19 mortality.
They examined the odds of testing positive for and mortality from COVID-19 among and between patients with schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and a reference group with no major psychiatric conditions.
A total of 2,535,098 unique individuals were included in the population studied, of whom 3,350 had schizophrenia, 26,610 had mood disorders, and 18,550 had anxiety disorders.
The researchers found that the rate of testing positive for COVID-19 in 2020 was much lower for the schizophrenia group and the mood disorder group than the anxiety disorder group, which was closer to the reference group (9.86% and 9.86% vs. 11.91%).
But compared with the reference group, patients with schizophrenia were nearly four times more likely to die from COVID-19.
The odds of mortality were also increased for the mood disorders COVID-19 group and anxiety disorders group.
The study’s findings suggest the need to foster recognition of pandemic risks on specific groups of patients with psychiatric conditions and may drive alternative approaches to COVID-19 disease testing and interventions to improve clinical outcomes
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The study is published in JAMA Network Open. One author of the study is Antonio L. Teixeira, M.D., Ph.D.
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