Three decades of increase in health anxiety: Systematic review and meta-analysis of birth cohort changes in university student samples from 1985 to 2017

Association Between Family History of Diabetes, Irrational Beliefs, and Health Anxiety with 10-Year Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: the ATTICA Epidemiological Study (2002-2012)

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to examine the relationship between family history of diabetes, irrational beliefs, and health anxiety in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHOD

ATTICA is a prospective, cohort study (2002-2012). The working sample included 845 participants (18-89 years), free of diabetes at baseline. Α detailed biochemical, clinical, and lifestyle evaluation was performed, while participants' irrational beliefs and health anxiety were assessed through the Irrational Beliefs Inventory and the Whiteley index scale, respectively. We evaluated the association between the participants' family history of diabetes mellitus with the 10-year risk of diabetes mellitus, both in the total study's sample and separately according to their levels of health anxiety and irrational beliefs.

RESULTS

The crude 10-year risk of T2DM was 12.9% (95%CI: 10.4, 15.4), with 191 cases of T2DM. Family history of diabetes was associated with 2.5 times higher odds (2.53, 95%CI 1.71, 3.75) of T2DM compared to those without family history. Among participants with family history of diabetes, the highest likelihood of developing T2DM, regarding their tested psychological features (i.e., low/high irrational beliefs in the entire group, low/high health anxiety in the entire group, and low/high irrational beliefs, low/high healthy anxiety), had people with high irrational beliefs, low health anxiety (OR 3.70, 95%CI 1.83, 7.48).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings underline the important moderating role of irrational beliefs and health anxiety in the prevention of T2DM, among participants at increased risk of T2DM.

Illness Anxiety Disorder: A Review of the Current Research and Future Directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

We review recent evidence on Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD), including risk factors and precipitants, diagnostic classification, clinical characteristics of the disorder, and assessment and treatment in both children and adults.

RECENT FINDINGS

IAD places a substantial burden on both individuals and society. Despite its impact, understanding of the disorder is lacking and debates remain about whether IAD should be classified as an anxiety disorder and whether it is distinct from Somatic Symptom Disorder. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for IAD and there are multiple validated measures of health anxiety available. However, research on health anxiety in children and youth is limited. IAD is chronic, and debilitating, but when identified, it can be effectively treated with CBT. Research using DSM-5 IAD criteria is lacking, and more research is needed to better understand the disorder, particularly in children and youth.

The Frequency of Health Anxiety, Coronavirus Anxiety and Anxiety Disorder in Patients With Tinnitus During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Impact of Pandemic on Tinnitus

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the frequency of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety and health anxiety in tinnitus patients during the pandemic and also, determined the psychophysiological impact of COVID-19 on tinnitus.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary central pandemic hospital from 15 July 2021 to 15 December 2022. In total, 124 patients with tinnitus and 77 healthy controls participated in the study. The sociodemographic data, a set of valid and reliable assessment instruments were used to measure outcomes of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety and severity of tinnitus.

RESULTS

Patients with tinnitus were found to experience higher levels of coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety and anxiety disorder than controls (p < 0.05). In tinnitus patients, the frequency of coronavirus anxiety was 22.6% and anxiety disorder was 18.5%. Notably, the levels of tinnitus severity were moderate to severe in more than half of the patients (51.6%) and also most of them (81.3%) reported that the severity of tinnitus during the pandemic was higher compared with the pre-pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Tinnitus patients had high levels of anxiety disorder, coronavirus anxiety and health anxiety. In line with these findings, it was evaluated that there was a relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic with psychological problems and tinnitus. Therefore, the predominance of tinnitus symptoms at presentation should not lead the clinician to neglect the underlying psychopathological problems in these patients.

Annual Research Review: Health anxiety in children and adolescents-developmental aspects and cross-generational influences

Health anxiety involves excessive worries about one's health along with beliefs one has an illness or may contract a serious disease. Concerning evidence suggests that health anxiety is on the rise in society, possibly further fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent classification systems acknowledge that impairing health-related worries and beliefs can emerge in early childhood with significant levels of symptoms persisting throughout childhood, and possibly continuous with diagnostic considerations in adulthood. This narrative review summarizes recent research advances in health anxiety in children and adolescents, focusing on various developmental aspects of health anxiety and related concepts in youths. Findings suggest that health anxiety symptoms in young age groups are associated with impairment, distress, and increased healthcare use, as well as substantial comorbidity with mainly other emotional problems and disorders. Furthermore, longitudinal studies suggest that childhood health anxiety can persist across adolescence, perhaps with links to chronic courses in adulthood. The growing literature was further reviewed, thus extending our understanding of early risk factors, including the potential role of exposure to serious illness and transgenerational transmission of health anxiety. Learning more about developmental trajectories will be highly relevant to inform strategies for early detection and prevention. While modified cognitive behavioral therapies in adults are successful in treating health anxiety, specific interventions have not yet been tested in youths. Given substantial overlaps with other psychopathology, it could be important to develop and explore more transdiagnostic and scalable approaches that take advantage of common factors in psychotherapy, while also including a wider perspective on potential familiar maladaptive illness cognitions and behaviors.

Joint factor analysis and approximate equipercentile linking of common trait health anxiety measures: a cross-sectional study of the 14-, 18- and 64-item health anxiety inventory, the illness attitude scale, and the 14-item Whiteley Index

BACKGROUND

Research on health anxiety has bloomed in recent years, but summaries of the literature are complicated by the use of dissimilar self-report questionnaires. Furthermore, these instruments have rarely been administered in parallel, and especially not in clinical samples. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between five widespread health anxiety measures, and to draft guidelines for the conversion of different sum scores.

METHODS

Clinical trial participants with principal pathological health anxiety (n = 335) and a sample of healthy volunteers (n = 88) completed the 14-item Whiteley Index (WI-14), the Illness Attitude Scale (IAS), and the 14-, 18-, and 64-item Health Anxiety Inventory (the HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14). Cross-sectional data from all participants were pooled (N = 423) and we conducted a joint factor analysis and approximate equipercentile linking of the WI-14, IAS, HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14.

RESULTS

Inter-scale correlations were high (rs ≥ 0.90 and ≥ 0.88 in adjusted analyses), and the scree plot of the joint factor analysis spoke for a unifactorial solution where 89/105 items (85%) had loadings ≥ 0.40. Most items at the core of this broad trait health anxiety factor pertained to the worry about health, the fear of having or developing a serious disease, and to some extent bodily preoccupation. We present a cross-walk table of observed equipercentile linked sum scores.

CONCLUSIONS

This study speaks clearly in favor of the WI-14, IAS, HAI-64, HAI-18, and HAI-14 all tapping into the same trait health anxiety construct, the core of which appears to concern the worry about health, the fear of having or developing a serious disease, and to some extent bodily preoccupation. Based on recently reported cut-offs for the HAI-14, a reasonable cutoff for pathological health anxiety in a psychiatric setting probably lies around 7-8 on the WI-14, 52-53 on the IAS, 82-83 on the HAI-64, and 26-27 on the HAI-18.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01966705, NCT02314065.

Prevalence and risk factors of COVID-19-related generalized anxiety disorder among the general public in China: a cross-sectional study

Objective

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder in China during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and identify its associated factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among the general population in China from March 16 to April 2, 2020. The participants were recruited using stratified random sampling. Data on demographic characteristics and COVID-19 related factors were obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The anxiety score was measured based on the Chinese version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7).

Results

The study comprised 10,824 participants, of which 37.69% had symptoms of anxiety. The risk factors for anxiety symptoms included poor self-reported health (OR = 1.672, p < 0.001), chronic diseases (OR = 1.389, p < 0.001), and quarantine (OR = 1.365, p < 0.001), while participants' perceptions that COVID-19 would be controlled was a protective factor (OR = 0.774, p < 0.001). The interactions between quarantine and self-reported health (p < 0.001), as well as between perceptions of COVID-19 and self-reported health (p < 0.001) were found to have a significant effect on GAD-7 scores.

Conclusions

Self-reported health status, chronic diseases, quarantine, and perceptions of COVID-19 were significantly associated with GAD-7 scores, indicating that mental health interventions are urgently needed during pandemics, especially for high-risk groups.

The association between health anxiety, physical disease and cardiovascular risk factors in the general population – a cross-sectional analysis from the Tromsø study: Tromsø 7

Background

Health anxiety (HA) is defined as a worry of disease. An association between HA and mental illness has been reported, but few have looked at the association between HA and physical disease.

Objective

To examine the association between HA and number of diseases, different disease categories and cardiovascular risk factors in a large sample of the general population.

Methods

This study used cross-sectional data from 18,432 participants aged 40 years or older in the seventh survey of the Tromsø study. HA was measured using a revised version of the Whiteley Index-6 (WI-6-R). Participants reported previous and current status regarding a variety of different diseases. We performed exponential regression analyses looking at the independent variables 1) number of diseases, 2) disease category (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or kidney disease, respiratory disease, rheumatism, and migraine), and 3) cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure or use of cholesterol- or blood pressure lowering medication).

Results

Compared to the healthy reference group, number of diseases, different disease categories, and cardiovascular risk factors were consistently associated with higher HA scores. Most previous diseases were also significantly associated with increased HA score. People with current cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes or kidney disease had the highest HA scores, being 109, 50, and 60% higher than the reference group, respectively.

Conclusion

In our general adult population, we found consistent associations between HA, as a continuous measure, and physical disease, all disease categories measured and cardiovascular risk factors.

Investigation of coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety, and anxiety symptom levels in vertigo patients during COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects the mental health of vertigo patients. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety, anxiety symptom levels, and demographic variables on vertigo and its severity in vertigo patients during the pandemic.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted from May 15 to November 15, 2021. In total, 118 patients with vertigo and 82 healthy controls participated in the study. Besides demographic and clinical data, Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale (HAD-A), and Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) were applied to all participants. Additionally, Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form (VSS-SF) was administered to vertigo patients.

RESULTS

According to the findings, vertigo patients experienced higher levels of coronavirus anxiety, health anxiety, and anxiety disorder compared to the healthy controls. In vertigo patients, the rate of coronavirus anxiety was 20.3%, and the rate of anxiety disorder was 32.2%. Majority of the patients (80.5%) were found to have severe-level vertigo. Additionally, most of the patients (82.1%) reported that the severity of vertigo during the pandemic was higher than before the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic causes serious mental health problems in vertigo patients, and pathological levels of these problems increase the discomfort of vertigo. Therefore, psychological assessment should be considered in these patients, and required psychological support and guidance services should be provided.

Quality of life and its related psychological problems during coronavirus pandemic

Background

The prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has endangered the psychological health of individuals. This study aimed to assess the quality of life and its related psychological problems during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 559 citizens above the age of 16 years, in Isfahan and Bandar Abbas cities in Iran were selected with a convenient sampling method. An online questionnaire was used to collect the data, which consisted of five sections: demographic information, short health anxiety inventory (SHAI), perceived stress scale (PSS), world health organization quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) and Padua inventory. Data were analyzed using statistical tests including t-test, path analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) using SPSS 24 and Amos 21 statistical software.

Results

A total of 559 subjects with the mean age of 37.34 ± 11.19 years participated in this study. Most of the participants were female (78.5%), married (71.6%) and employed (40.9%). The majority of them also had a bachelor’s degree (42.9%). There were significant negative correlations between perceived helplessness (r = -.597, p = .000), perceived stress (r = -.715, p = .000), risk of disease (r = -.302, p = .000), negative effect of disease (r = -.424, p = .000), health anxiety (r = -.366, p = .000), contamination obsessions (r = -.187, p = .000) and washing compulsions (r = -.193, p = .000) with quality of life. On other hand, significant positive correlation was found between perceived self-efficacy (r = .665, p = .000) and quality of life.

Conclusions

According to our findings, health anxiety, perceived stress and obsessive-compulsive disorder were negatively affected psychological health during COVID-19 which in turn decreased quality of life. Therefore, we suggest considering prevention and treatment of theses psychological problems to diminish the risk of reduced quality of life during COVID-19 global pandemic crisis.

Determining the relationship between health anxiety and healthy lifestyle behaviors, and the factors that affect them: A cross-sectional study in Turkey

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between health anxiety (HA) and healthy lifestyle behaviors (HLBs), and the factors that affect them.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This descriptive, cross-sectional, and relational study was conducted with 1007 voluntary participants between June 1 and September 30, 2020.

FINDINGS

The participants' mean age was 33.46 ± 15.42 years. A positive-significant relationship was found between the participants' total HA and HLBs scores (r = 0.06, p = 0.03). The simple linear regression analysis performed by the researchers indicated that the explanatory power of HA as a determinant of HLBs was statistically significant (R²  = 0.05).

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study determined that health anxiety increased the tendency towards HLBs.

A study in University of Ruhuna for investigating prevalence, risk factors and remedies for psychiatric illnesses among students

There is no comprehensive study on the mental health of Sri Lankan undergraduate in higher education, as most existing studies have been done for medical students only. It is unknown how academic and environmental factors contribute for the prevalence of psychiatric illnesses. Further, there is no sufficient information on the student/university based remedies to reduce the psychological distress of students. This research is carried out to find the overall psychological distress, well-being, prevalence percentages of psychiatric illnesses, associated risk factors, and student/university remedies to overcome them. We use standard questionnaires to screen for psychiatric illnesses, and we analyze the responses for our own questionnaire using Binary logistic regression analysis to identify demographic factors, academic factors, and environmental factors causing each mental disorder. We use Pearson correlation coefficient to identify correlation between prevalence of each psychiatric illnesses. All 13 psychiatric illnesses were found with a moderate correlation among diseases having a mean prevalence percentage of 28 and a standard deviation of 14.36, despite the prevalence of well-being factors among students and only 8% are clinically diagnosed. 89% of the students were suffering from at least one psychiatric illness and 68% were found to be psychologically distressed. Sets of overall and individual demographic, academic, and environmental risk factors contributing for the prevalence of a psychiatric illness in general and in particular were identified respectively after a binary logistic regression analysis. 61% of the students don’t receive psychiatric help from the university and are using their own remedies. The universities must consider the environmental and academic risk factors associated with psychiatric illnesses and design curriculum, expand resources, and provide counseling services to reduce the impact of risk factors.

Health anxiety is an important driver of healthcare use

Background

Healthcare use is increasing, and health anxiety (HA) is recognized as an important associated factor. Previous research on the association between HA and healthcare use has mostly explored HA as a dichotomous construct, which contrasts the understanding of HA as a continuous construct, and compared healthcare use to non-use. There is a need for studies that examine the association between healthcare use and the continuum of HA in a general population.

Aim

To explore the association between HA and primary, somatic specialist and mental specialist healthcare use and any differences in the association by level of healthcare use.

Methods

This study used cross-sectional data from the seventh Tromsø study. Eighteen thousand nine hundred sixty-seven participants aged 40 years or older self-reported their primary, somatic specialist and mental specialist healthcare use over the past 12 months. Each health service was categorized into 5 groups according to the level of use. The Whiteley Index-6 (WI-6) was used to measure HA on a 5-point Likert scale, with a total score range of 0–24. Analyses were conducted using unconstrained continuation-ratio logistic regression, in which each level of healthcare use was compared with all lower levels. Morbidity, demographics and social variables were included as confounders.

Results

HA was positively associated with increased utilization of primary, somatic specialist and mental specialist healthcare. Adjusting for confounders, including physical and mental morbidity, did not alter the significant association. For primary and somatic specialist healthcare, each one-point increase in WI-6 score yielded a progressively increased odds ratio (OR) of a higher level of use compared to all lower levels. The ORs ranged from 1.06 to 1.15 and 1.05 to 1.14 for primary and somatic specialist healthcare, respectively. For mental specialist healthcare use, the OR was more constant across levels of use, ranging between 1.06 and 1.08.

Conclusions

In an adult general population, HA, as a continuous construct, was significantly and positively associated with primary, somatic specialist and mental healthcare use. A small increase in HA was associated with progressively increased healthcare use across the three health services, indicating that the impact of HA is more prominent with higher healthcare use.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07529-x.

Efficacy of internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for severe health anxiety: results from a randomized, controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Health anxiety is common, disabling and costly due to patients' extensive use of health care services. Internet-delivered treatment may overcome barriers of accessibility to specialized treatment. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT).

METHODS

A randomized, controlled trial of iACT versus an internet-delivered discussion forum (iFORUM), performed in a Danish university hospital setting. Patients self-referred and underwent video-diagnostic assessment. Eligible patients (≥18 years) with health anxiety were randomized to 12 weeks of intervention. The randomization was blinded for the assessor. The primary outcome was between-group unadjusted mean differences in health anxiety symptoms measured by the Whiteley-7 Index (WI-7, range 0-100) from baseline to 6-month follow-up (6-MFU) using intention to treat and a linear mixed model. The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov, number NCT02735434.

RESULTS

A total of 151 patients self-referred, and 101 patients were randomized to iACT (n = 53) or iFORUM (n = 48). A mean difference in change over time of 19.0 points [95% confidence interval (CI) 10.8-27.2, p < 0.001] was shown on the WI-7, and a large standardized effect size of d = 0.80 (95% CI 0.38-1.23) at 6-MFU. The number needed to treat was 2.8 (95% CI 1.8-6.1, p < 0.001), and twice as many patients in iACT were no longer clinical cases (35% v. 16%; risk ratio 2.17, 95% CI 1.00-4.70, p = 0.050). Adverse events were few and insignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

iACT for health anxiety led to sustained effects at 6-MFU. The study contributes to the development of easily accessible treatment options and deserves wider application.

An investigation of individuals' health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of the functional health patterns

PURPOSE

This study investigates individuals' health perceptions and health anxiety within the framework of functional health patterns (FHP) during COVID-19 pandemic.

DESING AND METHOD

This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional design. Data were collected from participants (n = 3464) through a three-part web-based form.

FINDINGS

Individuals' health anxiety and perceptions are at a medium level. The participants' health perception and health anxiety scale mean scores demonstrated significant differences according to the FHP except for sexuality.

CONCLUSIONS

It can be stated that individuals use the anxiety they experience to be vigilance against a potential health threat.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Researchers can use findings in the examination of psychological health problems that can be seen in individuals after the pandemic.

Prevalence and Factors for Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic among College Students in China

Background: Knowledge of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of college students remains limited. Our aim is to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and explore the potential risk and protective factors of anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was adopted and a total of 24,678 college students were included from Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, during February, 2020. Anxiety was assessed by using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder tool (GAD-7). Multiple logistic regression models were established for exploring potential factors of anxiety. Results: The overall prevalence of anxiety was 7.3%. After adjusting for potential confounders, sex, place of residence, worried level, fear level, cognitive levels, and behavior status were found to be associated with anxiety (p < 0.05). Students with positive preventive behaviors showed a protective effect against the anxiety symptoms compared to those with negative preventive behaviors. In contrast to the high-cognition category, participants at a low cognitive level were 14.9% more likely to present anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: This large-scale study assessed the prevalence of anxiety and its potential influencing factors among college students. It suggests that the government could strengthen health education related to COVID-19 and supervise the performance of preventive behaviors to handle anxiety.

Anxiety and depression among Kosovar university students during the initial phase of outbreak and lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic

Background and Purpose: Measures taken to prevent COVID-19 infections, aside from causing disruptions in many facets of our daily life, have impeded education, including the higher education process, as never seen before on a global scale. Recent studies have indicated the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health trajectory of university students. Anxiety and depression can seriously hamper students’ quality of life and educational achievement. This study explored anxiety and depression among university students in Kosovo during the lockdown as a result of COVID-19 pandemics. The study was implemented during the initial phase of the pandemic. This study also explored the impact of selected determinants on the reported mental health of students. Methods: In total, 904 university students from the largest public university in Kosovo were enrolled in a web-based cross-sectional study during the early phase of the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The first and second hierarchical regression models indicated that the anxiety and depression scores of students were predicted by gender, knowing someone who was infected with COVID-19, concerns about the potential financial impact of measures taken by governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and excessive information seeking about COVID-19. The third model improved significantly when the variables concerns about family members’ health, concerns about being lonely, problems with online lectures and requests for help from the university related to online lectures were added to the model. Overall, the findings indicated that situational variables associated with measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to predict anxiety and depression among students. Conclusion: These findings indicate that universities and public health institutions need to support students, especially the more vulnerable students, in enhancing their skills to cope with mental health problems and distress related to the pandemic and the shift to online learning.

Development and preliminary validation of a self-rating anxiety inventory for maintenance haemodialysis patients

This study aimed to develop a self-rating anxiety inventory for maintenance haemodialysis patients (AI-MHD) and perform preliminary validation to provide a simple, effective, and highly specific practical tool for effective anxiety disorder screening in haemodialysis patients. Based on existing general anxiety disorder screening scales and common symptoms of MHD patients as a reference and after expert discussions and preliminary validation at a single dialysis centre, a self-rating AI-MHD containing 12 items was developed. Subsequently, the AI-MHD was applied in 4 dialysis centres and compared with GAD-7 and HADS-A. Further multicentre validation showed that Cronbach's alpha for the scale was 0.918; the AI-MHD score not only significantly differed between the anxiety disorders group and the non-anxiety disorders group (p<0.001) but also correlated with GAD-7 and HADS-A scores (p<0.001). In addition, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) score was 0.847, and Bartlett's test of sphericity was significant (x²=849.45, p<0.001). The anxiety disorder detection rate was 93%, and the specificity was 90%, which were significantly better than the screening results using the GAD-7 and HADS-A scales in the same groups. Although there were limitations, such as the sample size and regionality, the AI-MHD showed good efficacy and reliability in rating anxiety in MHD patients.

Warriors, Worriers, and COVID-19: An Exploratory Study of the Catechol O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism Across Populations

Background

Prevalence and mortality rates during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have varied widely across nations. This phenomenon may be partly due to regional variations in health-related behaviours, some of which may be influenced by health anxiety. A functional polymorphism of the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, designated rs4680 or Val¹⁵⁸Met, has been associated with anxiety-related behaviours and the so-called "worrier" phenotype.

Methods

In this exploratory study, an analysis of the correlation between the frequencies of the Met allele of the COMT gene across 28 countries, obtained from the public domain Allele Frequency Database (ALFRED), and the COVID-19 prevalence and mortality rates in these countries, obtained from the Johns Hopkins Medical University web-based dashboard, was carried out while controlling for population size and median age in each country.

Results

Allele frequencies varied widely across populations. Met allele frequency was positively correlated with COVID-19 prevalence (ρ = 0.527, p = 0.004) and mortality rate (ρ = 0.542, p = 0.003) across nations. However, this correlation was no longer significant after controlling for confounders.

Conclusions

These preliminary results suggest that there may be a relationship between the COMT Val¹⁵⁸Met or rs4680 functional polymorphism and the impact of COVID-19 across nations, which could plausibly be mediated by maladaptive anxiety-related behaviours.