Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan;39(1):e2887.
doi: 10.1002/hup.2887. Epub 2023 Dec 7.

SSRIs in the course of COVID-19 pneumonia: Evidence of effectiveness of antidepressants on acute inflammation. A retrospective study

Leonardo Fei  1 , Bernardo Bozza  2 , Giulia Melani  2 , Lorenzo Righi  3 , Gabriele Santarelli  2 , Ottone Baccaredda Boy  2 , Davide Benedetti  2 , Andrea Falone  2 , Dario Flaccomio  2 , Gabriele Giuranno  2 , Michela Martelli  2 , Pierpaolo Merola  2 , Sandra Moretti  4 , Endrit Ndoci  2 , Vincenzo Pecoraro  2 , Serena Siviglia  2 , Andrea Berni  4 , Alessandra Fanelli  4 , Eleonora Giovagnini  4 , Alessandro Morettini  4 , Carlo Nozzoli  4 , Ombretta Para  4 , Carlo Rostagno  4 , Camilla Tozzetti  4
Affiliations

SSRIs in the course of COVID-19 pneumonia: Evidence of effectiveness of antidepressants on acute inflammation. A retrospective study

Leonardo Fei et al. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Relationships between inflammation and mood have been observed in terms of pro-inflammatory effects induced by depressive conditions and, in parallel, by an antidepressant-induced favorable effect on the recovery of inflammatory states. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs were hypothesized to improve the prognosis of COVID-19 pneumonia, a typical acute inflammation, in terms of decreased mortality rate and pro-inflammatory cytokine serum levels.

Methods: The medical records of COVID-19 pneumonia inpatients at Careggi University Hospital (Florence) were analyzed for prognosis and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) after admission for over a period of 22 months. Medical records of patients treated at admission and not discontinued until discharge with an SSRI or with vortioxetine were identified. Two groups, one treated with antidepressants, the other not treated, were evaluated according to the mentioned parameters. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were performed.

Results: The entire sample composed of 1236 records (recovered patients 77.1%, deceased patients 22.9%). The treated group (n = 107) had a better prognosis than the untreated group in spite of age and comorbidity both being greater than in the untreated group. Correspondingly, IL-6 levels in the treated group were significantly lower (p < 0.01) than the levels in the untreated group, in every comparison.

Conclusions: Outcomes of this study support the hypothesis of the favorable influence of some antidepressants on the prognosis of COVID-19, possibly mediated by IL-6 modulation. Reduction in acute inflammation induced by the action of antidepressants was confirmed.

Keywords: COVID-19; IL-6; SARS-Cov 2; antidepressants; inflammation; pneumonia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Berk, M. , Wadee, A. A. , Kuschke, R. H. , & O'Neill-Kerr, A. (1997). Acute phase proteins in major depression. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 43(5), 529-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(97)00139-6
    1. Beurel, E. , Toups, M. , & Nemeroff, C. B. (2020). The biredirectional relationship of depression and inflammation: Double trouble. Neuron, 107(2), 234-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2020.06.002
    1. Bonnet, U. , Juckel, G. , Scherbaum, N. , Simmaco, M. , Ferracuti, S. , Lamis, D. A. , & Kuhn, J. (2021). Are persons treated with antidepressants and/or antipsychotics possibly better protected against severe COVID-19? Pharmacopsychiatry, 54(3), 142-143. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1408-8298
    1. Charlson, M. E. , Carrozzino, D. , Guidi, J. , & Patierno, C. (2022). Charlson comorbidity Index: A critical review of clinimetric properties. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 91(1), 8-35. https://doi.org/10.1159/000521288
    1. Clelland, C. L. , Ramiah, K. , Steinberg, L. , & Clelland, J. D. (2021). Analysis of the impact of antidepressants and other medications on COVID-19 infection risk in a chronic psychiatric in-patient cohort. BJPsych Open, 8(1), e6. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2021.1053

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources