Insight into potential long COVID effects: Antidepressant use in post SARS-CoV-2 Infection scenarios. A multiregional nested case-control study

This study aimed to investigate the impact of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the role of vaccination in the onset of neuropsychiatric conditions, evaluated through antidepressant prescriptions. This case-control study evaluated the risk of new antidepressant prescriptions in relation to previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. It was conducted in three Italian Regions on adults who did not receive antidepressant prescriptions in the year preceding the study period. Individuals with newly prescribed antidepressants (cases) were matched by sex and age to non-users of antidepressants (controls). Pooled estimates of regional Odds Ratios (ORs) were obtained through a meta-analysis. Findings showed that individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 had a higher risk of receiving a new prescription of antidepressants. Moreover, this association was stronger among subjects hospitalized due to infection, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination may have acted as an effect modifier by reducing that risk. In fact, the pooled OR for receiving a new antidepressant prescription was higher for unvaccinated individuals than for those vaccinated. The results of this study confirm the role of SARS-CoV-2 infection as a risk factor for the onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms. Antidepressant treatment initiation was much more likely after severe COVID-19 infection but vaccination reduced such a risk.