One-year follow-up of depression, anxiety, and quality of life of Peruvian patients who survived COVID-19

Predictors of health-related quality of Life for COVID-19 survivors living in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A repeated Follow-Up after 18 months of their recovery

The study aimed to explore the key determinants that impact the quality of life (QoL) transformation of those who have recuperated from COVID-19 in the Dhaka metropolis, particularly 18 months post-recovery. RT-PCR confirmed that 1,587 COVID-19 patients from Dhaka were included in the study. The baseline was June - November 2020, subsequently recovered and interviewed 18 months after their initial recovery. The follow-up included 1587 individuals using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. After excluding 18 deaths, 53 refusals, 294 inaccessible participants, and 05 incomplete data entries, we analysed the data of the 1217 respondents. The average physical domain score decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up, whereas a significant increase in average scores has been observed in other domains at the follow-up (p<0.05). GEE equation shows after adjusting for other factors, older age, female gender, higher education, higher family income, hospital admission during COVID-19, and the number of comorbidities were significantly associated with changing individuals' QoL scores. Monthly family income >60000 BDT, being married and having no previous vaccination history are significant in reducing people's QoL scores in the psychological domain. On the other hand, age, employment status, monthly family income, marital status, smoking history, and COVID-19 reinfection were significantly associated with altering an individual's QoL scores in the social domain. The overall QoL of COVID-19 recovered people improved in all domains after 18 months, except the physical realm. Participants' age, employment status, family income, marital status, smoking history, comorbidities, COVID-19 vaccination, and COVID-19 reinfection were responsible for altering people's QoL index.

One-year post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and mortality in South Korea: a nationwide matched cohort study using claims data

Background

Current understanding of post-COVID-19 syndrome in South Korea is primarily based on survey studies or research targeting specific patient groups, such as those hospitalized. Moreover, the majority of relevant studies have been conducted in European and North American populations, which may limit their applicability to the South Korean context. To address this gap, our study explores the one-year outcomes of COVID-19, focusing on the potential post-acute syndrome and all-cause mortality in South Korea.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study used nationwide claims data in South Korea, including adults aged >18 with records between January 20, 2020, and February 25, 2021. Patients were classified into COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups and matched 1:1 based on propensity scores. Primary outcomes were 12-month post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and all-cause mortality.

Results

The study involved 34,802 matched patients. The COVID-19 group had significantly elevated risks of coagulopathies (OR = 2.70 [2.24, 3.28]; p < 0.001), chronic lower respiratory diseases (OR = 1.96 [1.80, 2.14]; p < 0.001), symptoms of the circulatory and respiratory systems (OR = 1.91 [1.80, 2.04]; p < 0.001), mood disorders (OR = 1.67 [1.51, 1.86]; p < 0.001), cardiac diseases (OR = 1.39 [1.21, 1.59]; p < 0.001), and symptoms of cognition, perception, emotional state, and behavior (OR = 1.15 [1.04, 1.27]; p = 0.005). All-cause mortality was higher in the COVID-19 group during the 6 months (OR = 1.34 [1.06, 1.69]; p = 0.015), but gradually decreased, reaching an OR of 0.996 ([0.83, 1.19]; p = 0.964) at 1 year.

Conclusion

In South Korea, the 12-month post-acute COVID-19 syndrome includes coagulopathies, respiratory issues, mood disorders, and cardiac diseases. The risk of all-cause mortality post-COVID-19 is heightened for up to 6 months, then significantly decreases and resolves within a year.

In-Person and Teleconsultation Services at a National Hospital in Peru: Time Series Analysis of General and Psychiatric Care Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global reduction in health care accessibility for both infected and noninfected patients, posing a particular burden on those with chronic conditions, including mental health issues. Peru experienced significant devastation from the pandemic, resulting in a collapsed health care system and leading to the world's highest per capita mortality rate as a result of COVID-19. Understanding the trends in health care utilization, particularly in mental health care, is crucial for informing pandemic response efforts and guiding future recovery strategies.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to analyze the trends of outpatient medical and psychiatric consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic in a national hospital in Peru.

METHODS

This observational study was conducted at a national hospital in Lima, Peru. We analyzed data on user care across all services, including psychiatric services, from May 2019 to December 2022. The data were calculated for users served per month, including the number of users seen monthly in mental health services. Sociodemographic variables such as sex (female or male), age (≥0 years), type of medical appointment (regular or additional), and modality of care (in-person or teleconsultations) were taken into account. An interrupted time series regression model was conducted to assess the number of outpatient medical and psychiatric consultations. Subgroup analyses were performed based on service modality, including overall consultations, telemonitoring/teleconsultations only, or face-to-face only, for all service users and for mental health service users.

RESULTS

A total of 1,515,439 participants were included, with females comprising 275,444/484,994 (56.80%) of the samples. Only 345,605/1,515,439 (22.81%) visits involved telemedicine. The total monthly outpatient visits were significantly reduced compared with the expected projection (P<.001) at the beginning of the pandemic, followed by a later monthly increment of 298.7 users. Face-to-face interventions experienced a significant reduction at the beginning of the pandemic (P<.001), gradually recovering in the following months. By contrast, telemedicine use initially increased but subsequently declined toward the end of the pandemic. A similar trend was observed in mental health units.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic years, health care utilization in both general and psychiatric services experienced a significant decrease, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic (March 2020). However, no significant trends were observed in either case throughout the pandemic period. Telemedicine consultations witnessed a significant increase overall during this period, particularly among mental health users.

Changes in prevalence of anxiety and depression among COVID-19 patients during a two-year recovery period: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the temporal trend of anxiety and depression prevalences up to 2 years of follow-up for COVID-19 patients during the recovery period and to compare regional differences.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP using keywords such as "COVID-19", "anxiety", "depression", and "cohort study". Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled prevalence of anxiety and depression at five follow-up time intervals. Subgroup analyses were conducted by different regions.

RESULTS

34 cohort studies were included in the meta-analyses. The pooled anxiety prevalence rates at 0-1 month, 1-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months and 12-24 months were 18% (95% CI: 11% to 28%), 18% (95% CI: 12% to 28%), 22% (95% CI: 16% to 29%), 15% (95% CI: 11% to 21%), and 10% (95% CI: 0.05% to 20%), respectively, and the pooled depression prevalence rates were 22% (95%CI: 15% to 33%), 19% (95% CI: 13% to 29%), 21% (95% CI: 15% to 28%), 15% (95% CI: 11% to 20%), and 9% (95% CI: 0.4% to 21%) respectively. The prevalence of depression in Asian and non-Asian countries was statistically different at 0-1 month (χ2 = 15.248, P < 0.001) and 1-3 months (χ2 = 28.298, P < 0.001), and prevalence of anxiety was statistically different at 3-6 months (χ2 = 9.986, P = 0.002) and 6-12 months (χ2 = 7.378, P = 0.007).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of anxiety and depression in COVID-19 patients generally tends to decrease after 2 years of recovery, but may temporarily increase at 3-6 months. There are regional differences in the changes in prevalence of anxiety and depression.

Prevalence and incidence of neuropsychiatric disorders in post hospitalized COVID-19 patients in South America: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction

There are multiple reports of neuropsychiatric disorders (NDs) such as stress, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety, in patients who have survived the acute phase of COVID-19, being even more frequent in people who were hospitalized with moderate or severe disease. South America (SA) was one of the most affected continents during this time due to its health, social, political and economic context. We aimed to determine the prevalence and incidence of NDs in patients following hospitalization for COVID-19 in SA.

Materials and methods

We searched in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, SciELO, and Google Scholar databases up to October 2022. We performed proportion meta-analysis with a random-effect model and Freeman-Tukey Double Arcsine transformation using the STATA 16.1 program. Finally, we evaluated heterogeneity by subgroup analysis and certainty of evidence with the GRADE approach.

Results

We included eight studies from four countries. We only pooled six studies with prevalence measures. The estimated prevalence of all NDs was 31.48% (two-studies, 95%CI: 25.82-37.43). Depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and memory alterations had a pooled prevalence of 16.23% (three-studies, 95%CI: 7.18-27.93, I2: 94.22), 18.72% (three-studies, 95%CI: 11.65-26.97, I2: 87.56), 43.07% (three-studies, 95%CI: 32.77-53.37, I2: 92.61), 31.78% (three-studies, 95%CI: 14.33-52.40, I2: 97.96), and 38.24% (two-studies, 95%CI: 35.5-40.97), respectively. The evidence included was deemed as moderate to high certainty.

Conclusion

We suggest that NDs should be prioritized in research and care in South America with public policies that can support their identification and prompt management to improve the quality of life of patients. More studies are needed to adequately study the prevalence of NDs in South America, their associated factors, and evaluate the causes of heterogeneity.

Systematic review registration

https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21901041.v1.

Estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and treatment of depressive symptoms in Peru: an interrupted time series analysis in 2014-2021

PURPOSE

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the burden of mental disorders worldwide. Peru has been one of the countries most affected by COVID-19, however, studies evaluating the medium and long-term consequences of the pandemic on Peruvians' mental health are recent and represent a new field of study in proliferation. We aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and treatment of depressive symptoms using nationally representative surveys in Peru.

METHODS

Our study is an analysis of secondary data. We carried out a time series cross-sectional analysis based on the National Demographic and Health Survey of Peru, collected using a complex sampling design. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to measure mild (5-9 points), moderate (10-14 points), and severe (15 points or more) depressive symptoms. The participants were men and women aged 15 years and older, living in urban and rural areas of all regions of Peru. The main statistical analysis used segmented regression with Newey-West standard errors, taking into account that each year of the evaluation was divided into four measures (quarter measure).

RESULTS

We included 259,516 participants. An average quarterly increase of 0.17% (95% CI 0.03-0.32%) in the prevalence of moderate depressive symptoms was identified after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (approximately an increase of 1583 new cases of moderate depressive symptoms by each quarter). The percentage of cases treated for mild depressive symptoms increased quarterly by an average of 0.46% (95% CI 0.20-0.71%) after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (approximately an increase of 1242 new cases treated for mild depressive symptoms by each quarter).

CONCLUSION

In Peru, increases in the prevalence of moderate depressive symptoms and the proportion of cases treated with mild depressive symptoms were found after the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study is a precedent for future research assessing the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the proportion of cases receiving treatment during the pandemic and post-pandemic years.