The rapid spread of COVID-19 has a potentially significant impact on not only physical health but also psychological well-being. To the best of our knowledge, no review thus far has consolidated the psychological impact of COVID-19 across different subpopulations. A systematic search of the literature until 15 June 2020 found 150 empirical papers pertinent to the mental health consequences of the pandemic. The majority (87.3%) were from China (45.3%), the rest of Asia (22.0%) and Europe (20.0%), and mostly examined the general population (37.3%), healthcare workers (31.3%) and those with pre-existing mental and physical illnesses (14.7%). The most common psychological responses across these subpopulations were anxiety (overall range 24.8%–49.5%), depression (overall range 18.6%–42.6%) and traumatic stress symptoms (overall range 12.7%–31.6%). Healthcare workers and those with pre-existing physical and mental illnesses were more severely affected. Future studies are needed on underexamined subgroups such as the elderly and patients who recovered from COVID-19.
Background.
Earlier studies examining structural brain abnormalities associated with cognitively derived subgroups were mainly cross-sectional in design and had mixed findings. Thus, we obtained cross-sectional and longitudinal data to characterize the extent and trajectory of brain structure abnormalities underlying distinct cognitive subtypes (“preserved,” “deteriorated,” and “compromised”) seen in psychotic spectrum disorders.
Methods.
Data from 364 subjects (225 patients with psychotic conditions and 139 healthy controls) were first used to determine the relationship of cognitive subtypes with cross-sectional measures of subcortical volume and cortical thickness. To probe neurodevelopmental abnormalities, brain structure laterality was examined. To examine whether neuroprogressive abnormalities persist, longitudinal brain structural changes over 5 years were examined within a subset of 101 subjects. Subsequent discriminant analysis using the identified brain measures was performed on an independent subject group.
Results.
Cross-sectional comparisons showed that cortical thinning and limbic volume reductions were most widespread in “deteriorated” cognitive subtype. Laterality comparisons showed more rightward amygdala lateralization in “compromised” than “preserved” subtype. Longitudinal comparisons revealed progressive hippocampal shrinkage in “deteriorated” compared with healthy controls and “preserved” subtype, which correlated with worse negative symptoms, cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Post-hoc discrimination analysis on an independent group of 52 subjects using the identified brain structures found an overall accuracy of 71% for classification of cognitive subtypes.
Conclusion.
These findings point toward distinct extent and trajectory of corticolimbic abnormalities associated with cognitive subtypes in psychosis, which can allow further understanding of the biological course of cognitive functioning over illness course and with treatment.
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