Psychiatric outcomes in outpatients affected by long COVID: A link between mental health and persistence of olfactory complaint.

BACKGROUND

Anosmia was one of the main symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A psychiatric history (

AIM

To compare the rate of psychiatric disorder among post-COVID patients without anosmia

METHODS

We conducted a prospective case control study from March 2020 to May 2021. Patients recruited at the ENT department of Nice University Hospital had a subjective olfactory complaint (visual analogue scale) for over 6 wk and a molecular or CT-proven severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 diagnosis confirmed by serology. Post-COVID patients without persistent olfactory disorders were recruited at the university hospital infectiology department. Psychiatric medical histories were collected by a psychiatrist during the assessments.

RESULTS

Thirty-four patients with post-COVID-19 olfactory complaints were included in the first group of the study. Fifty percent of the patients were female (

CONCLUSION

The presence of a psychiatric history may constitute a potential risk factor for the development of long COVID due to persistent anosmia. It therefore seems important to establish reinforced health monitoring after a COVID 19 infection in at-risk patients. Further prospective, translational, and collaborative studies are needed to extrapolate these results to the general population.

Informations de copyright

©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interest.