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Exploring one-year mental health outcomes in a cohort of severe COVID-19 survivors: a focus on depressive and anxiety symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

H. Salgado ,
S. Martins ,
L. Fontes ,
A. R. Ferreira ,
I. Coimbra ,
A. Braga ,
J. A. Paiva  and
L. Fernandes
H. Salgado
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Service, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto. Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto.
S. Martins*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS@RISE), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto.
L. Fontes
Affiliation:
Intensive Care Medicine Department, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto
A. R. Ferreira
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS@RISE), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto.
I. Coimbra
Affiliation:
Intensive Care Medicine Department, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto
A. Braga
Affiliation:
Intensive Care Medicine Department, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto
J. A. Paiva
Affiliation:
Intensive Care Medicine Department, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
L. Fernandes
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Service, Unidade Local de Saúde São João, Porto. Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Mental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto. Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS@RISE), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto.
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide, with 5-8% of patients requiring intensive care. Years after the emergence of COVID-19, there is a heightened interest about the Long COVID, a heterogeneous condition characterized by persistent or emergent symptoms that last for weeks or months after patient’s recovery from acute infection, with a negative impact on physical and mental health. Research indicates that depression and anxiety often co-occur and may serve as predictors for Long COVID. Given the scale of the pandemic, even a small proportion of patients with long-lasting symptoms will create a significant health burden. Therefore, gathering data on the long-term evolution and outcomes of these patients is of utmost importance.

Objectives

To identify depressive and anxiety symptoms in severe COVID-19 survivors 1-year after discharge and to analyse their association with sex, age and fear of recurrence and sequelae of COVID-19.

Methods

The cohort analysed is part of MAPA research project and includes adult patients admitted due to COVID-19, in an Intensive Care Medicine Department of a University Hospital in Portugal. Participants were evaluated 1-year after discharge to home with a comprehensive protocol, which included Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; depressive symptoms), General Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7; anxiety symptoms) and a brief questionnaire about fear of recurrence and sequelae of COVID-19.

Results

The final sample (n=159) had a mean age of 62.2 years and mostly (69%) was male. About 19% and 21% of survivors scored for depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Both symptoms were significantly more prevalent among younger participants (p=0.031; p<0.001) and were associated with fear of recurrence (p=0.002; p=0.009) and sequelae (p=0.001; p<0.001) of COVID-19 1-year after discharge.

Conclusions

Overall, there is a significant prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among COVID-19 survivors 1-year after discharge. These findings emphasize the need for greater attention to these symptoms in this population, since its recognition and treatment can improve quality of life and reduce symptoms in the long term, especially in younger patients.

This work was supported by National Funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,I.P., within CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDP/4255/2020)

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S1013
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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