Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity and their Clinical Correlates in Patients Post COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study from Rural Northern India

Introduction: Myriad of complications were observed in post Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) survivors, psychiatric morbidities among one of them. Recent body of research has shown that significant number of patients developed psychological symptoms following COVID-19. Most of the Indian studies have assessed psychological morbidity among COVID-19 patients during admission. However, very few Indian studies have assessed the psychological impact of COVID-19 during the follow-up period, especially in rural India. Aim: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety and evaluate related socio-demographic (age, gender, education, occupation and marital status) and clinical factors (severity of COVID-19, presence of medical co-morbidity, Oxygen requirement, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) referral, duration of admission) in patients post-COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, India. among 96 patients post-COVID -19 after their discharge from the hospital. Data collection was done between July 2021 to September 2021, using a semi-structured proforma and a psychiatric diagnosis was made (based on International Classification of Diseases- 10th Edition Diagnostic Criteria for Research criteria and clinically approved by two qualified psychiatrists). Rating scales such as Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) were used for severity assessment. Data was analysed using Microsoft Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: In 96 patients, 70 (72.91%) were males. 38 patients (39.58%) were of the age group 45-60 years. 36 (37.50%) patients had Depression. Anxiety was seen in 40 (41.66%) participants. Among the clinical variables, the severity of the COVID-19 infection (p-value<0.01), presence of co-morbidity (p-value<0.01), and ICU referral (p-value<0.01), were found to be associated significantly with the presence of depression in the participants. Among 36 depressive patients, mild depression was present in 17 (47%), moderate depression in 12 (33%), severe depression in 5 (14%) and very severe in 2 (6%) of the participants. Anxiety was associated significantly with the gender (p-value=0.02), co-morbidity (p-value<0.01), severity of illness (p-value<0.01), oxygen requirement (p-value=0.04) and ICU admission (p-value<0.01). Mild anxiety was observed in 18 (45%), moderate anxiety in 16 (40%) and severe anxiety in 6 (15%). Conclusion: The prevalence of depression and anxiety is high in patients post COVID-19. The severity of these disorders is significantly associated with presence of medical co-morbidity and severity of COVID-19. Hence, thorough evaluation and management of these disorders in post-COVID-19 patients can help in improving the overall outcome.