Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37340474›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2023

Antidepressant drug prescription and incidence of COVID-19 in mental health outpatients: a retrospective cohort study.

Oleg O Glebov, Christoph Mueller, Robert Stewart, Dag Aarsland, Gayan Perera

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Oleg O GlebovInstitute of Neuroregeneration and Neurorehabilitation, Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Shandong, China. oleg.glebov@kcl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-3312-5470
Christoph MuellerInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9816-1686
Robert StewartInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4435-6397
Dag AarslandInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6314-216X
Gayan PereraInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3414-303X
King's College London · GBNational Health Service · GBQingdao University · CN

Funding

Department of HealthMedical Research Council MR/T045302/1Medical Research Council MR/V049879/1Medical Research Council MR/W014386
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrently, the main pharmaceutical intervention for COVID-19 is vaccination. While antidepressant (AD) drugs have shown some efficacy in treatment of symptomatic COVID-19, their preventative potential remains largely unexplored. Analysis of association between prescription of ADs and COVID-19 incidence in the population would be beneficial for assessing the utility of ADs in COVID-19 prevention.

methodsRetrospective study of association between AD prescription and COVID-19 diagnosis was performed in a cohort of community-dwelling adult mental health outpatients during the 1st wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Clinical record interactive search (CRIS) was performed for mentions of ADs within 3 months preceding admission to inpatient care of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) NHS Foundation Trust. Incidence of positive COVID-19 tests upon admission and during inpatient treatment was the primary outcome measure.

resultsAD mention was associated with approximately 40% lower incidence of positive COVID-19 test results when adjusted for socioeconomic parameters and physical health. This association was also observed for prescription of ADs of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class.

conclusionsThis preliminary study suggests that ADs, and SSRIs in particular, may be of benefit for preventing COVID-19 infection spread in the community. The key limitations of the study are its retrospective nature and the focus on a mental health patient cohort. A more definitive assessment of AD and SSRI preventative potential warrants prospective studies in the wider demographic.

Indexed as

Antidepressive AgentsCOVID-19Mental DisordersOutpatientsPrescription DrugsAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCOVID-19 TestingFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesAntidepressive AgentsPrescription DrugsSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsAntidepressantsCOVID-19Drug repurposingRespiratory infectionSARS-CoV-2SSRI

Identifiers

PMID37340474
PMCPMC10283271
OpenAlexW4381325916

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.