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Schizophrenia may be one of the highest risk factors for dying from COVID-19, according to a study conducted in New York hospitals. People suffering from schizophrenia died almost 3 times more often than people without disorders. Only old age is a greater risk factor.
- Scientists have studied nearly 7,5 thousand coronavirus patients staying in New York hospitals from March to May 2020
- 75 of this group were diagnosed with schizophrenia. It turned out that they died 2,7 times more often than patients without mental disorders
- The reason may be the immune system weakened by schizophrenia or antipsychotics, but it is too early to conclude clearly
- You can find more current news on the TvoiLokony home page
Schizophrenia and death from COVID-19 – the latest research
Earlier studies reported that people with mental illnesses, particularly depression and schizophrenia, were more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Now it is investigated how schizophrenia affects the risk of dying from the coronavirus.
For the study, researchers looked at medical records from 260 clinics and four hospitals in New York City. Of the 26 patients tested, 540 adults tested positive for COVID-7. People staying in these facilities between March 348 and May 19 were examined.
Patients with mental disorders were divided into three groups: spectrum schizophrenia, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders, and then compared with patients without any mental disorder.
The studies looked at gender, age and race, and factors at greater risk for COVID-19: cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and smoking.
Schizophrenia causes more frequent deaths from COVID-19
Out of over 7 thousand of patients diagnosed with COVID-19, 75 had experience with schizophrenia, 564 had a mood disorder, and 360 had anxiety disorder.
Of all coronavirus patients, 864 died or were discharged into the hospice within 45 days of diagnosis.
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In the case of anxiety and mood disorders, studies showed no increased mortality. It turned out, however, that people with schizophrenia were 2,7 times more likely to die than patients without such disorders.
The research therefore revealed that schizophrenia turned out to be the second largest – after age – risk factor for death.
By comparison, patients aged 45 to 54 were 3,9 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than younger patients (this risk doubled every 10 years after age 54), regardless of whether they had mental health problems or not.e. Patients with heart failure or diabetes have a 1,65-fold and 1,28-fold higher risk of death from COVID-19, respectively.
People with schizophrenia are at high risk
“This is both surprising and expected,” said study author Dr. Donald Goff, a professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.
Earlier studies have shown that people with schizophrenia live an average of up to 20 years shorter. It was believed that it was mainly the result of diseases and behaviors that accompany schizophrenia, incl. obesity, heart disease or smoking.
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“We thought there was something about schizophrenia itself or its medications that put them at risk of dying early,” said Goff. In his opinion, the disease or drugs can disrupt the immune system.
Some psychiatrists speculate that schizophrenia is related to immune system activation and pro-inflammatory signaling molecules called cytokines. The common cause of death in COVID-19 is precisely the overreaction of these cytokines, also known as the cytokine storm.
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The authors of the study emphasize that they concerned a small group of patients with schizophrenia, and the data was collected at the peak of the outbreak in New York City, when mainly people at high risk and severe symptoms were studied.
– Rates were high, the entire system was close to overload and treatments were not as effective as they are today. The death rates have fallen in all cases since then, but we believe people with schizophrenia are at high risk, Goff said. – It is important to pay attention to this – added the doctor, noting that people with schizophrenia should be vaccinated first.
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