The Role of Anxiety and Cortisol in Outcomes of Patients With Covid-19

• Published in: Basic and clinical neuroscience Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 179 - 184
• Main Authors: Ramezani, Mahtab, Simani, Leila, Karimialavijeh, Ehsan, Rezaei, Omidvar, Hajiesmaeili, Mohammadreza, Pakdaman, Hossein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Iran Negah Scientific Publisher 01.03.2020; Iranian Neuroscience Society; Iran University of Medical Sciences
• Subjects: Anxiety; Central nervous system; Coronaviruses; Cortisol; COVID-19; Endocrine system; Epidemics; Hormones; Immune system; Mental depression; Public health; Research Paper; stress; COVID-19; Anxiety; Cortisol; Stress
• ISSN: 2228-7442; 2008-126X; 2228-7442
• DOI: 10.32598/bcn.11.covid19.1168.2

The outbreak due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is n global public health emergency and challenges psychological resilience. The central nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system are complex interacting systems. Cortisol has been implicated as the cause of a wide range of mental and physical health disorders; however, the impact of cortisol on outcomes in patients with COVID-19 is not clear. The current study enrolled patients with COVID-19 (onset of disease within 7 days of the first symptom) to evaluate the serum concentration of cortisol and levels of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to investigate a possible relationship between cortisol, depression, and anxiety levels and outcomes of patients with COVID-19. A total of 30 patients with COVID-19 were studied. The levels of cortisol and HADS score in patients who died of Covid-19 were significantly higher in comparison with surviving patients (P<0.017 and P<0.001 respectively). We also found that the HADS score was positively correlated with serum cortisol levels (r= 0.842, P=0.004). Our findings showed that stress and anxiety are associated with patients' outcomes. Psychological interventions can improve the mental health of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.