Journal
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.666067
Keywords
schizophrenia; COVID-19; severe mental illness; SARS-CoV-2; first episode psychosis; psychosis
Categories
Funding
- National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) [16/137/107]
- NIHR (Doctoral Research Fellowship) [DRF-2018-11-ST2018]
- Medical Research Council (MRC) UK [MR/R020981/1]
- NIHR Applied Research Centre (ARC) West Midlands
- MRC [MR/R020981/1] Funding Source: UKRI
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Understanding the increased risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 in patients with schizophrenia is crucial, and further research is needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
As the global burden of mortality from COVID-19 continues to rise, an understanding of who is most at risk of adverse outcomes is of paramount importance. Pre-existing cardiometabolic, renal and respiratory diseases as well as old age are well-established risk factors associated with disease severity and mortality among patients with COVID-19. However, mounting evidence also indicates an increased susceptibility to, and risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19 in people with schizophrenia, independent of age and comorbidity. Therefore, elucidating the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms which may increase the risk of poor outcomes in people with schizophrenia is of crucial importance. Here, we provide a narrative on the current understanding of COVID-19 in patients with schizophrenia and propose potential mechanisms which may link schizophrenia with an increased susceptibility to, and greater risk of adverse outcomes from COVID-19. Given the existing knowledge gaps, robust clinical and biological studies are required to further our understanding of some of these underlying mechanisms, so that effective prevention and treatment strategies for COVID-19 in patients with schizophrenia can be developed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available