Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39380062›Full record

Observational studyBMC medicine2024

SSRI use during acute COVID-19 and risk of long COVID among patients with depression.

Zachary Butzin-Dozier, Yunwen Ji, Sarang Deshpande, Eric Hurwitz, A Jerrod Anzalone, Jeremy Coyle, Junming Shi, Andrew Mertens, Mark J van der Laan, John M Colford and 3 more

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

13 citing papers in PubMed.

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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

13 authors.

Zachary Butzin-DozierSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. zbutzin@berkeley.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-6419-0008
Yunwen JiSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Sarang DeshpandeSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Eric HurwitzUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
A Jerrod AnzaloneUniversity of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
Jeremy CoyleSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Junming ShiSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Andrew MertensSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Mark J van der LaanSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
John M ColfordSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Rena C PatelUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Alan E HubbardSchool of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Consortium

Funding

Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR) -Identifying correlates of functional immunity in SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasmaUL1TR002243 · NCATS · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · PI Paul A. Harris, Wesley H Self · 2017 to 2026
$130.7M
UCLA Clinical Translational Science InstituteUL1TR001881 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ARLEEN F. BROWN, ARASH NAEIM · 2016 to 2026
$118.1M
Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUL1TR001872 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI COLLARD, HAROLD R, JACOBY, VANESSA · 2016 to 2025
$112.1M
Project-005UL1TR001445 · NCATS · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI BREDELLA, MIRIAM ANTOINETTE, HOCHMAN, JUDITH S · 2015 to 2025
$103.5M
Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (U Component)UL1TR001863 · NCATS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI John H. Krystal, LUCILA OHNO-MACHADO · 2016 to 2026
$102.9M
Phenotypic Diversity in COVID-19UL1TR001878 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI FITZGERALD, GARRET A · 2016 to 2025
$102.4M
Transform Dissemination and Implementation Science in CTSA ProgramsUL1TR002319 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI John K. Amory · 2017 to 2026
$100.0M
Clinical and Translational Science AwardUL1TR001873 · NCATS · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI REILLY, MUREDACH P · 2016 to 2025
$99.0M
WU INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCESUL1TR002345 · NCATS · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI William G. Powderly · 2017 to 2026
$97.8M
The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science CenterUL1TR002541 · NCATS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2018 to 2022
$93.0M
Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE)UL1TR002378 · NCATS · EMORY UNIVERSITY · PI Andres J Garcia, Elizabeth O. Ofili · 2017 to 2026
$92.1M
UC San Diego Clinical and Translational Research InstituteUL1TR001442 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI FIRESTEIN, GARY S, HOGARTH, MICHAEL · 2015 to 2024
$88.3M
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6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLong COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), is a poorly understood condition with symptoms across a range of biological domains that often have debilitating consequences. Some have recently suggested that lingering SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in the gut may impede serotonin production and that low serotonin may drive many Long COVID symptoms across a range of biological systems. Therefore, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase synaptic serotonin availability, may be used to prevent or treat Long COVID. SSRIs are commonly prescribed for depression, therefore restricting a study sample to only include patients with depression can reduce the concern of confounding by indication.

methodsIn an observational sample of electronic health records from patients in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) with a COVID-19 diagnosis between September 1, 2021, and December 1, 2022, and a comorbid depressive disorder, the leading indication for SSRI use, we evaluated the relationship between SSRI use during acute COVID-19 and subsequent 12-month risk of Long COVID (defined by ICD-10 code U09.9). We defined SSRI use as a prescription for SSRI medication beginning at least 30 days before acute COVID-19 and not ending before SARS-CoV-2 infection. To minimize bias, we estimated relationships using nonparametric targeted maximum likelihood estimation to aggressively adjust for high-dimensional covariates.

resultsWe analyzed a sample (n = 302,626) of patients with a diagnosis of a depressive condition before COVID-19 diagnosis, where 100,803 (33%) were using an SSRI. We found that SSRI users had a significantly lower risk of Long COVID compared to nonusers (adjusted causal relative risk 0.92, 95% CI (0.86, 0.99)) and we found a similar relationship comparing new SSRI users (first SSRI prescription 1 to 4 months before acute COVID-19 with no prior history of SSRI use) to nonusers (adjusted causal relative risk 0.89, 95% CI (0.80, 0.98)).

conclusionsThese findings suggest that SSRI use during acute COVID-19 may be protective against Long COVID, supporting the hypothesis that serotonin may be a key mechanistic biomarker of Long COVID.

Indexed as

COVID-19DepressionPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsCOVID-19Long COVIDSSRI

Identifiers

PMID39380062
PMCPMC11462648

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Registered trials

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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.