Psychiatric Symptoms and Fatigue in COVID-19 Survivors

Abstract

Introduction: Psychiatric symptoms and fatigue are common after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness. The cause of these symptoms is direct neuronal injury and indirect injury with immune-mediated inflammation. In addition, social factors also affect mental health. Objective: We aim to compare psychiatric symptoms and fatigue between COVID-19 survivors and healthy controls. Material and methods: We prospectively evaluated 100 COVID-19 survivors for anxiety, depression, positive affect, and behavior control using the Mental Health Inventory (MHI). Fatigue is assessed using the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS) score. We compared them with 100 healthy controls. Results: There was a significant statistical difference between the MHI score and individual components of MHI. Overall, MHI scores in cases and controls were 79.41 and 93.31, respectively, with a P value of less than 0.0001. Computed scores for anxiety, depression, behavior control, and positive affect of COVID-19 survivors showed statistically significant differences as compared to healthy controls. There was a weak association between hospital stay duration and poor MHI scores. Fatigue was significantly worse in COVID-19 survivors, with a mean score of 6.93 in cases and 5.35 in controls, with a P value of 0.0001. This was a cross-sectional study evaluating psychiatric symptom scores, but not establishing the diagnosis. It is suggested that appropriate treatment and counseling for these symptoms should be done. Conclusions: Psychiatric symptoms and fatigue were significantly more common in COVID-19 patients after recovery from acute illness. It is a major contributing cause of morbidity other than organic complications of COVID-19 and requires attention in management.

Demyelination in Patients with Post-COVID Depression

“…The severity of the current depressive episode was assessed before the start of drug therapy using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS) [62,63]. The total score is interpreted as follows: no depression (0-7); mild depression (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16); moderate depression (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23); and severe depression (≥24).…”

“…Among the complications related to COVID-19, depression represents one of the major public health concerns; it decreases quality-of-life outcomes and may cause disability [15]. People who survived the acute phase of COVID-19 have been found to be at increased risk of mental health disorders, including being diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) more often [16].…”