Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40474431›Full record

ArticleHealth services research2025

Veteran Mental Health Emergency Care Utilization Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Jason I Chen, Meike Niederhausen, David P Bui, Diana J Govier, Mazhgan Rowneki, Alex Hickok, Troy A Shahoumian, Megan Shepherd-Banigan, Anna Korpak, Eric Hawkins and 14 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05394025 (COVID-19 Observational Research Collaboratory - Long-Term Outcomes), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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.

NCT05394025 completednot on this map

COVID-19 Observational Research Collaboratory - Long-Term Outcomes (LTO) Study

TypeobservationalSponsorVA Office of Research and DevelopmentRan2022 to 2024Enrolled479ConditionsCOVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 Infection
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

24 authors.

Jason I ChenCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Meike NiederhausenCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
David P BuiCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Diana J GovierCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Mazhgan RownekiCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Alex HickokCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Troy A ShahoumianCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham VA HCS, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Megan Shepherd-BaniganDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4020-8936
Anna KorpakSeattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, VA Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Eric HawkinsCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound HCS, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Alan R TeoCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
Jennifer NaylorSchool of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Thomas F OsborneVA Palo Alto HCS, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Valerie A SmithDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
C Barrett BowlingDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Edward J BoykoSeattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, VA Puget Sound, Seattle, Washington, USA.
George N IoannouCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound HCS, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Matthew L MaciejewskiDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Ann M O'HareCenter of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care, VA Puget Sound HCS, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Elizabeth M VigliantiCenter for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor HCS, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Theodore J IwashynaCenter for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor HCS, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Amy S B BohnertCenter for Clinical Management Research, VA Ann Arbor HCS, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Denise M HynesCenter to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care, VA Portland Health Care System (HCS), Portland, Oregon, USA.
VA HSR&D COVID‐19 Observational Research Collaboratory (CORC)

Funding

HSRD VA IK6 HX003395VA RCS 10-391VA Health Systems Research C19 21-278VA Health Systems Research C19 21-279VA Health Systems Research CDA 18-185VA Health Systems Research Senior Research Career Scientist Awards RCD 21-136VA Portland Health Care System
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate whether Veterans infected with SARS-CoV-2 have an elevated risk for needing mental health emergency care (MHEC) relative to uninfected comparators, as measured by emergency department or urgent care clinic utilization for a mental health diagnosis. DATA SOURCES/EXTRACTION: Data from Veterans Health Administration (VHA), VHA-paid, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid-paid services were used to identify incident MHEC use within 1 year of infection for Veterans with a SARS-CoV-2 infection and matched comparators. STUDY

designThis was a national, retrospective cohort study that leveraged a target trial emulation framework to examine long-term outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection among Veterans enrolled in VHA care. Uninfected comparators were matched based on month of infection, demographic, clinical, and health care utilization characteristics. We calculated cumulative incidence rates per 10,000 persons and utilized Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for MHEC up to one year post-infection. PRINCIPAL

findingsThe cohort included 207,968 Veterans with SARS-CoV-2 and 1,036,944 comparators. The 365-day incidence of MHEC use was greater among SARS-CoV-2 patients than comparators (HR = 1.48; 95% CI: [1.44, 1.52]). Patients with SARS-CoV-2 had a higher hazard for MHEC use than comparators in all timeframes analyzed.

conclusionsSARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with increased MHEC use. Active care coordination with existing mental health treatment providers may help mitigate post-infection mental health distress. Future research should explore specific contextual factors contributing to MHEC, such as gaps in continuity of care.

Indexed as

COVID-19Emergency Service, HospitalMental DisordersMental Health ServicesPatient Acceptance of Health CareVeteransAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2United StatesUnited States Department of Veterans Affairsambulatorycohort analysismental healthobservational dataoutpatient carepsychiatryquasi‐experimentsVA health care system

Identifiers

PMID40474431
PMCPMC12461115

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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.