Elad Yom-Tov1, Damien Lekkas2,3, Nicholas C Jacobson2,3,4,5. 1. Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel. 2. Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, 46 Centerra Parkway, EverGreen Center, Suite 315, Lebanon, NH 03756, United States. 3. Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Program, Dartmouth College, NH, United States. 4. Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Williamson Building, 3rd Floor, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, United States. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, United States.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical reports from patients suffering from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reflect a high prevalence of sensory deprivation or loss pertaining to smell (dysosmia/anosmia) and/or taste (dysgeusia/ageusia). Given the importance of the senses to daily functioning and personal experience, the mental health consequences of these symptoms warrant further attention. METHODS: A cohort of Reddit users posting within the /r/covid19positive subforum (N = 15,821) was leveraged to analyze instantaneous risk of transition to a state of suicidal ideation or depression using Cox proportional-hazards models. Risk transition was defined by posts made in suicide- or depression-related forums, or mentions of relevant phrases with and without mention of anosmia/ageusia in /r/covid19positive. Self-diagnosis of COVID-19 was also modeled as a separate and simultaneous predictor of mental health risk. RESULTS: Mention of anosmia/ageusia was significantly associated with transition to a risk state. Users with a history of anosmia/ageusia-related posts and who self-identified as COVID-19 positive had 30% higher instantaneous risk relative to others. The highest increase in instantaneous risk of suicidal ideation or depression occurred more than 100 days after first posting in /r/covid19positive. LIMITATIONS: Use of self-diagnosed disease as well as a broad array of anosmia/ageusia-related terminology may entail both information bias and overestimates of symptom incidence. CONCLUSIONS: The specific effects of COVID-19 on the senses may have long-term implications for patient mental health well-being beyond the primary recovery period. Future work is needed to investigate the longitudinal mental health burden of residual COVID-19 symptom presentation.
BACKGROUND: Clinical reports from patients suffering from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reflect a high prevalence of sensory deprivation or loss pertaining to smell (dysosmia/anosmia) and/or taste (dysgeusia/ageusia). Given the importance of the senses to daily functioning and personal experience, the mental health consequences of these symptoms warrant further attention. METHODS: A cohort of Reddit users posting within the /r/covid19positive subforum (N = 15,821) was leveraged to analyze instantaneous risk of transition to a state of suicidal ideation or depression using Cox proportional-hazards models. Risk transition was defined by posts made in suicide- or depression-related forums, or mentions of relevant phrases with and without mention of anosmia/ageusia in /r/covid19positive. Self-diagnosis of COVID-19 was also modeled as a separate and simultaneous predictor of mental health risk. RESULTS: Mention of anosmia/ageusia was significantly associated with transition to a risk state. Users with a history of anosmia/ageusia-related posts and who self-identified as COVID-19 positive had 30% higher instantaneous risk relative to others. The highest increase in instantaneous risk of suicidal ideation or depression occurred more than 100 days after first posting in /r/covid19positive. LIMITATIONS: Use of self-diagnosed disease as well as a broad array of anosmia/ageusia-related terminology may entail both information bias and overestimates of symptom incidence. CONCLUSIONS: The specific effects of COVID-19 on the senses may have long-term implications for patient mental health well-being beyond the primary recovery period. Future work is needed to investigate the longitudinal mental health burden of residual COVID-19 symptom presentation.
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