Psychosis due to anxiety related to COVID-19: A case report

A description of COVID-19 related delusional content in admissions to an acute psychiatric unit

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound global impact, affecting individuals, including those with mental illness, through early and widespread information dissemination. Although the neurobiological basis of delusions remains unclear, external stimuli and historical events are known to influence them. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to explore this phenomenon.

Aim

To determine the prevalence of COVID-19-related delusional content, among individuals presenting for treatment of psychosis during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate associated clinical and demographic factors.

Setting

Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in-patient psychiatry department.

Methods

Data were extracted retrospectively from adult psychiatric admissions spanning April to September 2020 on patients whose presenting complaints included delusions. Demographic factors, symptoms, psychiatric, medical and substance use history, and a documented Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis by the attending psychiatrist were collected.

Results

The prevalence of COVID-19-related delusional content was 25.5%. Significant demographic association was observed with education level of Grade 12 and above (p = 0.000338). The odds of a diagnosis of schizophrenia and related disorders were 2.72 times greater than mood and psychotic disorder due to another medical condition in those with COVID- 19-related delusional content (OR 2.19, 95% CI: [1.4-3.4]).

Conclusion

The presence of COVID-19-related delusional content in patients admitted to hospital with psychosis provides further evidence of the role of external stimuli in the formation of delusions.

Contribution

This study underscores the influence of socio-cultural factors on delusions and advocates for interventions and expanded research to address mental health outcomes.

Global environmental risk factors of schizophrenia: a study protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

INTRODUCTION

Schizophrenia is a chronic, complex and severe psychiatric disorder affecting millions of people every year and inflicting different costs to the individual, family and community. A growing body of evidence has introduced several genetic and environmental factors and their interactions as aetiological factors of schizophrenia. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to present an updated representation of the global environmental risk factors of schizophrenia.

METHOD AND ANALYSIS

This protocol is developed and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols guideline. We will systematically search the databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Embase until 30 September 2022. We include Cohort studies that have reported one or more risk factors of schizophrenia. We will also search Google Scholar search engine and references lists of included articles. Extracting the relevant data and assessing the quality of the included studies will be independently performed by different authors of our team. The risk of bias for the included studies will be evaluated using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Subgroup analysis, meta-regression or sensitivity analysis will be our solution to deal with heterogeneity between studies. We will use a funnel diagram as well as Begg and Egger tests to check for possible publication bias.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required because there will be no primary data collection or human involvement. The results of this study will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022359327.