It's time to rethink the association between COVID-19 and mental disorders

Tian-Zhen Chen,Jiang Du,Min Zhao

1Shanghai Mental Health Center,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,Shanghai,China;2Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders,Shanghai,China;3CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology(CEBSIT),Chinese Academy of Sciences,Shanghai,China.

?Joint first authors.

Dear Editor,

Since the end of 2019,the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)epidemic has been increasing in different countries and regions and going to be a long and repeating state.The COVID-19 epidemic is associated with the emergence of a variety of mental problems.About 23.98% of people with COVID-19 may suffer from mood,anxiety,or psychotic disorder[1].A considerable number of studies have been published on mental disorders during the COVID-19 epidemic.Besides,policies vary across countries,and policy differences across cultures may have different impacts on mental health.Here,we write to express our concerns and call for rethinking the relationship between the COVID-19 and mental disorders and shifting the focus of our research for formulating targeted plans.Now that it is the fourth year of the epidemic,we should do more detailed research,including investigation,policy formulation,long-term rehabilitation,and treatment development.

According to existing studies,there are at least four relationships between COVID-19 and mental disorders(Figure 1).Among them,those with a history of mental disorders before COVID-19 usually have abnormal stress response systems,which are easy to aggravate mental symptoms.We should ensure the supply of psychotropic drugs and arrange online medical consultation and follow-up.For patients with COVID-19,if there is no past medical history of mental disorders,the prevention and treatment of COVID-19-related mental symptoms should be emphasized.Recent studies have shown that this group of people mainly presents with insomnia,depression,and anxiety[2].For those with a history of mental disorders,the treatment of both mental disorders and COVID-19 should be considered.Of particular note is that as the COVID-19 virus mutates,the virulence is significantly reduced,but the panic associated with the outbreak persists[3].Taking the recent outbreak of Omicron strain infection in Shanghai as an example,they are mostly mild or asymptomatic infections of 40,000 people[4].For those who have no mental disorders previously and have not been infected with COVID-19 this time,the mental problems that appear are mostly related to long-term social isolation,material shortages,or economic reasons.Most of them show acute symptoms of anxiety and depression,which can be relieved on their own,and some may have residual symptoms[5].

Figure 1 The relationship between COVID-19 and mental disorder and our response solutions

Humans have entered a new stage in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic.The focus should not be on epidemiological investigations only.As mental health doctors on the front line,we call for a more in-depth study of mental disorders in the COVID-19 epidemic.

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Abbreviations

COVID-19,Coronavirus disease 2019.

Citation

Chen TZ,Du J,Zhao M.It's time to rethink the association between

COVID-19 and mental disorders.Psychosom Med Res.2022;4(3):13.doi:10.53388/202207.

Executive editor:Na Liu.

Received:06 April 2022,Accepted:20 April 2022,Available online:24 April 2022.

?2022 By Author(s).Published by TMR Publishing Group Limited.This is an open access article under the CC-BY license.(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/).