Do patients with schizophrenia have higher infection and mortality rates due to COVID-19? A systematic review

Psychiatriki. 2021 Aug 5. doi: 10.22365/jpsych.2021.027. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPeople with mental illness are known to have poorer physical health outcomes. Among them, patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are disproportionately burdened. A number of recent studies have highlighted that patients with schizophrenia are particularly at risk from COVID-19. The aim of this systematic review is to clarify whether patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are at greater risk for poor COVID-19 outcomes. We conducted a systematic review of the literature following the PRISMA guidelines, using PubMed, PsycINFO (via Ovid) and Scopus as databases, to identify all studies which investigated infection and/or mortality rate from SARS-CoV-2 in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Following a formal screening process, seven studies met our inclusion criteria. The results of these seven studies were reported using odds ratios or adjusted odds ratios. The collective results indicated a moderate, but statistically significant effect for higher infection rates, and a strong statistically significant effect for higher mortality rates in patients with schizophrenia. Our findings indicate that people with schizophrenia have a high risk of being infected by the new coronavirus and have a significantly higher mortality rate than the general population. There are contradictory findings concerning other outcomes, including the frequency of intensive care unit admission...
Source: Psychiatriki - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research