Mofazzal Jahromi MA, Sefidfard M, Taghipour A, Roustazadeh A, Matin S, Mir H, Badri M, Bahrami F, Abdoli A. Latent infections, coronavirus disease 2019 and psychiatric disorders: The friend of my enemy.
Clin Transl Discov 2022;
2:e141. [PMID:
36712173 PMCID:
PMC9875118 DOI:
10.1002/ctd2.141]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Recent reports revealed an increased rate of hospitalization and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among patients with psychiatric disorders. On the other hand, there is a link between latent infections, including Toxoplasma gondii, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) with psychiatric disorders. We individually assessed data regarding 1) the mortality rate of COVID-19 among individuals with psychiatric disorders; 2) the association of latent infections in COVID-19 patients and 3) the association between latent infections and psychiatric disorders. We developed the hypothesis that latent infection could increase the risk of severe COVID-19 among patients with psychiatric disorders. Cumulative evidence proposed that infection with toxoplasmosis, CMV and HSV-1 could increase the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Co-V2) infections among patients with psychiatric disorders probably by induction of hyperinflammatory conditions. These infections are also associated with hyperinflammation and T cell exhaustion, which has also been observed in both schizophrenia and COVID-19. This hypothesis provides new insights into the role of latent infections in increasing the mortality rates of COVID-19 among individuals with psychiatric disorders. Strategies for screening, early diagnosis and treatment of these infections could be recommended for COVID-19 patients with a background of psychiatric disorders.
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