Impact of pre-existing depression on severe COVID-19 outcomes

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in 2019 had rapidly developed into a global pandemic, causing more than 6.8 million deaths and impacting the lives of billions of individuals around the world.1 Public healthcare around the work have mainly focused on the clinical manifestations and treatment of the deadly respiratory disease. As the pandemic progressed, it became clear that the psychological distress—arising from anxiety, depression and self-isolation; leading even to some suicides—had negatively impacted people’s mental health.2 However, whether pre-existing mental disorder has an influence on COVID-19 outcomes remains unknown.