Cited by 269COVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesCOVID-19 and Mental HealthTreatment of Major Depression

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 49 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 28 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Association between antidepressant use and reduced risk of intubation or death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: results from an observational study

Open access
Hoertel, Nicolas, Sánchez-Rico, Marina, Vernet, Raphaël, Beeker, Nathanaël, Jannot, Anne-Sophie, Neuraz, Antoine, Salamanca, Elisa, Paris, Nicolas, Daniel, Christel, Gramfort, Alexandre, Lemaitre, Guillaume, Bernaux, Mélodie, Bellamine, Ali, Lemogne, Cédric, Airagnes, Guillaume, Burgun, Anita, Limosin, Frédéric, On behalf of AP-HP / Universities / INSERM COVID-19 Research Collaboration and AP-HP COVID CDR Initiative·2021·Molecular Psychiatry

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

A prior meta-analysis showed that antidepressant use in major depressive disorder was associated with reduced plasma levels of several pro-inflammatory mediators, which have been associated with severe COVID-19. Recent studies also suggest that several antidepressants may inhibit acid sphingomyelinase activity, which may prevent the infection of epithelial cells with SARS-CoV-2, and that the SSRI fluoxetine may exert in-vitro antiviral effects on SARS-CoV-2. We examined the potential usefulness of antidepressant use in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in an observational multicenter retrospective cohort study conducted at AP-HP Greater Paris University hospitals. Of 7230 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, 345 patients (4.8%) received an antidepressant within 48 h of hospital admission. The primary endpoint was a composite of intubation or death. We compared this endpoint between patients who received antidepressants and those who did not in time-to-event analyses adjusted for patient characteristics, clinical and biological markers of disease severity, and other psychotropic medications. The primary analysis was a multivariable Cox model with inverse probability weighting. This analysis showed a significant association between antidepressant use and reduced risk of intubation or death (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.43-0.73, p < 0.001). This association remained significant in multiple sensitivity analyses. Exploratory analyses suggest that this association was also significant for SSRI and non-SSRI antidepressants, and for fluoxetine, paroxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine, and mirtazapine (all p < 0.05). These results suggest that antidepressant use could be associated with lower risk of death or intubation in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. Double-blind controlled randomized clinical trials of antidepressant medications for COVID-19 are needed.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s41380-021-01021-4

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    At the time of the study, no clinical study had examined the potential usefulness of antidepressants in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

    “To our knowledge, no clinical study has examined to date the potential usefulness of antidepressants in patients hospitalized for COVID-19.”
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Metadata

Authors
Hoertel, N., Sánchez-Rico, M., Vernet, R., Beeker, N., Jannot, A.-S., Neuraz, A., Salamanca, E., Paris, N., Daniel, C., Gramfort, A., Lemaitre, G., Bernaux, M., Bellamine, A., Lemogne, C., Airagnes, G., Burgun, A., Limosin, F., & On behalf of AP-HP / Universities / INSERM COVID-19 Research Collaboration and AP-HP COVID CDR Initiative
Affiliations
  • Inserm (FR)
  • Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
  • Hôpital Cochin (FR)
  • Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades (FR)
  • Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (FR)
Corresponding author
Hoertel, Nicolas
Venue
Molecular Psychiatry
Published
2021-02-04
Volume
26
Issue
9
Pages
5199-5212
ISSN
  • 1359-4184 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-5578
OpenAlex
W3128622946
Cited by
269
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 94
FWCI
19.34
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • medRxiv (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
antidepressants, COVID-19 pandemic, intubation, mortality, hospitalized patients, major depressive disorder, fluoxetine, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SARS-CoV-2, antiviral activity, pro-inflammatory mediators, mirtazapine, paroxetine, escitalopram, venlafaxine
MeSH terms
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Antidepressive Agents, Major Depressive Disorder, Humans, Intubation, Intratracheal, Retrospective Studies, Multicenter Studies as Topic, Observational Studies as Topic

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