In this systematic review and meta-analysis the authors aimed to comprehensively quantify the association between mental and neurological disorders, both pre-existing and subsequent, and the risk of susceptibility, severity and mortality of COVID-19. PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane library databases were searched for studies published from the inception up to January 16, 2021 and updated at July 7, 2021. Observational studies including cohort and case-control, cross-sectional studies and case series that reported risk estimates of the association between mental or neurological disorders and COVID-19 susceptibility, illness severity and mortality were included. Two researchers independently extracted data and conducted the quality assessment. Based on I2 heterogeneity, a random effects model to calculate pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) was used. Subgroup analyses and meta-regression analysis were also performed.
A total of 149 studies (227,351,954 participants, 89,235,737 COVID-19 patients) were included in this analysis, in which 27 reported morbidity (132,727,798), 56 reported illness severity (83,097,968) and 115 reported mortality (88,878,662). Overall, mental and neurological disorders were associated with a significant high risk of infection (pre-existing mental: OR 1·67, 95% CI 1·12-2·49; and pre-existing neurological: 2·05, 1·58-2·67), illness severity (mental: pre-existing, 1·40, 1·25-1·57; sequelae, 4·85, 2·53-9·32; neurological: pre-existing, 1·43, 1·09-1·88; sequelae, 2·17, 1·45-3·24), and mortality (mental: pre-existing, 1·47, 1·26-1·72; neurological: pre-existing, 2·08, 1·61-2·69; sequelae, 2·03, 1·66-2·49) from COVID-19. Subgroup analysis revealed that association with illness severity was stronger among younger COVID-19 patients, and those with subsequent mental disorders, living in low- and middle-income regions. Younger patients with mental and neurological disorders were associated with higher mortality than elders. For type-specific mental disorders, susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 was associated with pre-existing mood disorders, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); illness severity was associated with both pre-existing and subsequent mood disorders as well as sleep disturbance; and mortality was associated with pre-existing schizophrenia. For neurological disorders, susceptibility was associated with pre-existing dementia; both severity and mortality were associated with subsequent delirium and altered mental status; besides, mortality was associated with pre-existing and subsequent dementia and multiple specific neurological diseases. Heterogeneities were substantial across studies in most analysis.
The findings show an important role of mental and neurological disorders in the context of COVID-19 and provide clues and directions for identifying and protecting vulnerable populations in the pandemic. Early detection and intervention for neurological and mental disorders are urgently needed to control morbidity and mortality induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was substantial heterogeneity among the included studies, and the results should be interpreted with caution. More studies are needed to explore long-term mental and neurological sequela, as well as the underlying brain mechanisms for the sake of elucidating the causal pathways for these associations.
Liu L, Ni SY, Yan W, Lu QD, Zhao YM, Xu YY, Mei H, Shi L, Yuan K, Han Y, Deng JH, Sun YK, Meng SQ, Jiang ZD, Zeng N, Que JY, Zheng YB, Yang BN, Gong YM, Ravindran AV, Kosten T, Wing YK, Tang XD, Yuan JL, Wu P, Shi J, Bao YP, Lu L. Mental and neurological disorders and risk of COVID-19 susceptibility, illness severity and mortality: A systematic review, meta-analysis and call for action. EClinicalMedicine. 2021 Oct;40:101111. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101111.