Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40055683›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2025

Psychiatric and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 within 2 years: a multinational cohort study.

Yi Chai, Ivan C H Lam, Kenneth K C Man, Joseph F Hayes, Eric Y F Wan, Xue Li, Celine S L Chui, Wallis C Y Lau, Xiaoyu Lin, Can Yin and 4 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing 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

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

14 authors.

Yi Chai *School of Public Health, Shenzhen University Medical School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Ivan C H Lam *Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Kenneth K C ManCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Joseph F HayesDivision of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
Eric Y F WanCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Xue LiCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Celine S L ChuiLaboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24h), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Wallis C Y LauCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Xiaoyu LinReal-World Solutions, IQVIA, Durham, NC, USA.
Can YinReal-World Solutions, IQVIA, Durham, NC, USA.
Min FanCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Esther W ChanCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Ian C K WongCentre for Safe Medication Practice and Research, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Hao LuoSchool of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada. hao.luo1@uwaterloo.ca.

Funding

University Grants Committee C7154-20GF
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe long-term psychiatric and neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 across diverse populations remain not fully understood. This cohort study aims to investigate the short-, medium-, and long-term risks of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders following COVID-19 infection in five countries.

methodsThis population-based multinational network study used electronic medical records from France, Italy, Germany, and the UK and claims data from the USA. The initial target and comparator cohorts were identified using an exact matching approach based on age and sex. Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 or those with a positive SARS-CoV-2 screening test between December 1, 2019, and December 1, 2020, were included as targets. Up to ten comparators without COVID-19 for each target were selected using the propensity score matching approach. All individuals were followed from the index date until the end of continuous enrolment or the last healthcare encounter. Cox proportional hazard regression models were fitted to estimate the risk of incident diagnosis of depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol misuse or dependence, substance misuse or dependence, bipolar disorders, psychoses, personality disorders, self-harm and suicide, sleep disorders, dementia, and neurodevelopmental disorders within the first 6 months (short-term), 6 months to 1 year (medium-term), and 1 to 2 years (long-term) post-infection.

resultsA total of 303,251 individuals with COVID-19 and 22,108,925 individuals without COVID-19 from five countries were originally included. Within the first 6 months, individuals with COVID-19 had a significantly higher risk of any studied disorders in all databases, with Hazard Ratios (HRs) ranging from 1.14 (95% CI, 1.07-1.22) in Germany to 1.89 (1.64-2.17) in Italy. Increased risks were consistently observed for depression, anxiety disorders, and sleep disorders across almost all countries. During the medium- and long-term periods, higher risks were observed only for depression (medium-term: 1.29, 1.18-1.41; long-term: 1.36, 1.25-1.47), anxiety disorders (medium-term: 1.29, 1.20-1.38; long-term: 1.37, 1.29-1.47), and sleep disorders (medium-term: 1.10, 1.01-1.21; long-term: 1.14, 1.05-1.24) in France, and dementia (medium-term: 1.65, 1.28-2.10) in the UK.

conclusionsOur study suggests that increased risks of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric outcomes were consistently observed only within, and not after, the 6-month observation period across all databases, except for certain conditions in specific countries.

Indexed as

COVID-19Mental DisordersAdolescentAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleFranceGermanyHumansItalyMaleMiddle AgedSARS-CoV-2United KingdomUnited StatesLong COVIDMental healthNeuropsychiatric disordersOMOP CDMPsychiatric disordersSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40055683
PMCPMC11887073

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.