Role of medical comorbidity in the association between psychiatric disorders and mortality among patients with COVID-19

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2022 Aug;57(8):1727-1730. doi: 10.1007/s00127-022-02271-5. Epub 2022 Mar 24.

Abstract

We examined whether excess chronic medical comorbidity mediated excess COVID-19 inpatient mortality among people with mental disorders in the early phase of the pandemic, a question with important implications for public health and clinical decision-making. Using records of 2599 COVID-19 hospitalized patients, we conducted a formal causal mediation analysis to estimate the extent to which chronic comorbidity mediates the association between mental disorders and COVID-19 mortality. The Odds Ratio (95% CI) for Natural Indirect Effect and Controlled Direct Effect were 1.07(1.02, 1.14) and 1.40 (1.00, 1.95), respectively, suggesting that a large proportion of excess COVID-19 mortality among people with mental disorders may be explained by factors other than comorbidity.

Keywords: COVID-19; Causal inference; Causal mediation analysis; Mental disorders.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Comorbidity
  • Humans
  • Mental Disorders* / epidemiology
  • Mental Disorders* / psychology
  • Pandemics
  • SARS-CoV-2