During the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a well-documented deterioration in psychological wellbeing and increased social isolation. The purpose of this study was to find out whether people who experienced these difficulties during the pandemic were more at risk of contracting and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

The team of experts conducted an observational study of nearly 1,100 adults, who completed surveys during April 2020 and self-reported incidence of COVID-19 infection and symptom experience across the pandemic through to December 2020.

Regression models were used to explore these relationships, taking into account demographic and occupational factors.

Professor Vedhara says: “The significance of the work is in that it turns the debate regarding the mental health aspects of the pandemic on its head. Our data show that increased stress, anxiety and depression are not only consequences of living with the pandemic, but may also be factors that increase our risk of getting SARS-CoV-2 too.

“Further work is now needed to determine whether and how public health policy should change to accommodate the fact that the most distressed people in our communities appear to be at greatest risk of COVID-19 infection.”

Professor Trudie Chalder, Professor of Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy from King’s College London said: “Previous work has shown a clear relationship between distress and the development of viral infections indicating a vulnerability. Our study found that distress was associated with self-reported Covid-19 infection and the next step is to investigate whether this association is found in those with confirmed infection.”

The full study can be found here and will be among evidence reviewed at the Association for Psychological Science’s free public meeting: ‘Psychology Meets Biology in COVID-19: What We Know and Why It Matters for Public Health’.

Source: Eurekalert