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. 2021 Apr:298:113802.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113802. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

Impact of the first Covid-19 pandemic wave on first episode psychosis in Milan, italy

C M Esposito  1 , A D'Agostino  2 , B Dell Osso  3   4   5 , A Fiorentini  1 , C Prunas  1 , A Callari  1 , L Oldani  1 , E Fontana  1 , G Gargano  1 , B Viscardi  1 , B Giordano  3 , S D'Angelo  3 , F Wiedenmann  3 , M Macellaro  3 , F Giorgetti  3 , Ne Turtulici  4 , O Gambini  2   6   4 , P Brambilla  1   4
Affiliations

Impact of the first Covid-19 pandemic wave on first episode psychosis in Milan, italy

C M Esposito et al. Psychiatry Res. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

The ongoing Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic appears to increase risk for mental illness, either directly due to inflammation caused by the virus or indirectly due to related psychosocial stress, resulting in the development of both anxious-depressive and psychotic symptoms. The purpose of the present study was to assess the frequency and characteristics of all patients with First Episodes Psychosis (FEP) without COVID-19 infection hospitalized in the first four months since lockdown in Milan. We recruited sixty-two patients hospitalized between March 8 to July 8, 2020 versus those first hospitalized in the same period in 2019. The two subgroups were compared for sociodemographic variables and clinical characteristics of the episodes. Patients with FEP in 2020 were significantly older than patients with FEP in 2021, and presented with significantly less substances abuse. Interestingly, patients presenting with FEP in 2020 were significantly older than patients with FEP in 2019. These data are compatible with the greater vulnerability to stressful factors during the pandemic, as well as with the greater concern regarding a possible COVID-19 infection producing brain damage causing the FEP.

Keywords: Brief Psychotic Episode; Covid-19; First-Episode Psychosis; Reactive Psychosis; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age of patients hospitalized for FEPs in 2019 and in 2020 In Figure 1 it is possible to see the different age distribution of patients with FEP in 2019 and 2020. Patients with FEP in 2020 show a greater distribution of ages, which instead in patients with FEP in 2019 was mostly concentrated between 20 and 40 years.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Substance abuse in patients hospitalized for FEPs in 2019 and in 2020 In Figure 2 it is possible to see the percentage of patients who, concomitantly with the development of FEP, abused substances. In 2020, among patients who developed FEP, there were fewer abusers than in 2019.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Differences in HAM-A score at admission and discharge in patients hospitalized for FEPs in 2019 and in 2020 Patients underwent the HAM-A rating scale at admission and at discharge. The difference in the score obtained at discharge compared to admission (ΔHAM-A) determines the clinical improvement of the patient with regard to anxious symptoms. In Figure 3 it is possible to see the distribution of ΔHAM-A in patients with FEP hospitalized in 2019 and 2020. It is possible to graphically see how in 2020 the reduction in the HAM-A score was greater and more distribuited.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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