Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care (CIVIC)
Treating the Whole Patient: Mental Health Care and Outcomes for COVID-19 Patients
Written by Arielle Hughes
Living through a pandemic is enough to take a toll on anyone’s mental health and it likely has done so for everyone. Now imagine living with an existing mental illness, such as anxiety or depression, and then being hospitalized for contracting COVID-19. Research suggests patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are at an increased risk for worsening existing mental health conditions and developing new mental health conditions. Compounding this increased risk is the additional stress that has been shown to accompany visits to the ICU for any illness.
To provide better care for those hospitalized with COVID-19, a better understanding of the prevalence of mental health conditions among these patients is needed. CIVIC Health Science Specialist Stephanie Veazie, MPH and CIVIC Core Investigators Drs. Maya O’Neil, PhD, and Kathleen Carlson, PhD sought to systematically review this evidence. They also investigated factors such as differences between those with and without existing mental health conditions, demographics, and post-hospitalization mental health care utilization and resource needs. This work was published as an evidence brief through the Evidence Synthesis Program.
To obtain the most reliable estimates of prevalence of mental health conditions, Stephanie Veazie, Maya O’Neil, and team limited their synthesis to 17 studies that included at least 200 participants. They found that many patients reported mental health symptoms during and three months after being hospitalized for COVID-19. Reported mental health symptoms included depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Fortunately, the incidence of receiving a new mental health disorder diagnosis six months after hospitalization was reportedly low. Regarding sex differences, women tended to have worse mental health outcomes compared to men. Finally, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were 55% more likely to be diagnosed with a new mental health condition then were people with COVID-19 who were not hospitalized.
Findings from the team’s review suggest that the experience of being hospitalized for COVID-19 could be contributing to poor mental health outcomes. Clinicians can use these findings to better inform how they care for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Specifically, clinicians will want to be aware that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 could be experiencing new or worsening mental health symptoms and they might benefit from resources to manage mental health conditions when they are discharged.
Clinicians have a unique opportunity to screen for mental health diagnoses and refer patients to mental health services when they are hospitalized for COVID-19. Bringing greater awareness to existing and new mental health conditions could result in better holistic care and mental and physical outcomes for those fighting COVID-19.
