Background: This study aimed to examine the course of depression and anxiety in COVID-19 survivors with a psychiatric history compared with those without a psychiatric history.
Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey for COVID-19 survivors was conducted from July to September 2021. A total of 6016 COVID-19 survivors, the accuracy of whose responses was determined to be assured, were included in analyses. Exposures included psychiatric history and time since COVID-19 infection, and the main outcomes and measures included severity of depression and anxiety, as assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), respectively.
Results: Mean severity of PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were significantly higher in participants with a psychiatric history than in those without a psychiatric history. Two-way analysis of covariance for PHQ-9 showed a significant main effect of the presence of psychiatric history and a significant interaction effect of psychiatric history × time since infection. Two-way analysis of covariance for the GAD-7 score revealed a significant main effect of the presence of psychiatric history and time since COVID-19 infection and the interaction effect of these factors.
Conclusions: The course of depression and anxiety was more severe in COVID-19 survivors with a psychiatric history than in those without a psychiatric history.
Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; post-COVID; post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.