Serious mental illnesses linked to higher long COVID risk

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-10-30 02:00

International

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People with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or recurrent major depressive disorder face a higher risk of prolonged COVID-19 symptoms after getting the virus, according to international research. Researchers looked at the rate of long COVID among over 1.6 million people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the US, and compared this with any serious mental illness diagnoses. The researchers say 24.8% of the cohort developed long COVID, however this increased to 27.7% among those who had a prior serious mental illness. The study authors say this extends previous research which has found a link between these mental illnesses and a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and death.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: In this cohort study of patients infected with COVID-19, patients with serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or recurrent major depressive disorder) compared with those without serious mental illness were at increased risk of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), underscoring the need for coordinated mental health and COVID-19 care strategies. PASC is defined as ongoing, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects occurring after the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection (i.e., that present 4 weeks or more after the acute infection).

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Weill Cornell Medicine, USA

Funder: This study is part of the NIH Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER EHR) Initiative, which seeks to understand, treat, and prevent the postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This research was funded by the NIH Agreement OTA OT2HL161847 as part of the RECOVER research program.

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