Exploring the Relationship Between Lifestyle and Post-COVID Psychiatric Symptoms: Findings from a Brazilian Cohort

Understanding how lifestyle factors impact psychiatric well-being is essential for supporting recovery in COVID-19 survivors, yet their influence on long-term outcomes remains underexplored. This cross-sectional study evaluates associations between depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation (SI), and syndromic common mental disorder (CMD) with lifestyle factors in 730 moderate to severe COVID-19 survivors. Lifestyle factors included physical activity, alcohol and substance use and during COVID-19 infection, and dietary intake, with assessments conducted 6 to 11 months post-hospitalization. Multiple logistic regression was employed for each of the five dependent variables. Of the participants, 51.9% were male, with a mean age of 55. Previous COVID-19 sedative use and the severity of alcohol use were correlated with increased depression (sedative, OR = 2.43, <i>P</i> = .011; alcohol OR = 1.09, <i>P</i> = .017), GAD (sedative, OR = 2.13, <i>P</i> = .007; alcohol OR = 1.08, <i>P</i> = .009), PTSD (sedative, OR = 2.10, <i>P</i> = .008; alcohol OR = 1.08, <i>P</i> = .004), and sedative for CMD (OR = 1.97, <i>P</i> = .005). Opioid use was linked to increased GAD (OR = 2.23, <i>P</i> = .042), and "fruits and vegetables" consumption 2-3 times/week was associated with lower odds for depression (OR = 0.19, <i>P</i> = .021). No lifestyle behaviors were found to be associated with suicidal ideation. These results underscore the importance of lifestyle-specific behaviors in mitigating psychiatric symptoms during the extended recovery period from COVID-19. This is particularly pertinent with respect to minimizing the consumption of sedatives and alcohol in the context of depression, GAD, and PTSD, as well as the use of opioids for GAD and the increased intake of fruits and vegetables to depression. These findings may have substantial implications for the formulation of lifestyle strategies aimed at the prevention of mental health disorders subsequent to severe acute viral infections.