The patients to whom they were prescribed antidepressants were significantly less likely to test positive for Covid-19as research led by the University’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience found King’s College of London.

In the research, published in the journal “BMC Medicine”, it is stated that antidepressants, especially the most commonly prescribed class called “selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs), may have a preventive role against Covid-19 infection and could be a complementary approach to mass vaccination.

The research

Researchers analyzed the clinical records of 5,664 patients admitted for psychiatric care at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust during the first wave of the pandemic (April to December 2020).

All newly admitted patients were mandatorily tested for Covid-19 throughout their care. Of these, 202 patients tested positive. The researchers found that patients with a positive Covid-19 test who, according to their medical records, had recently received antidepressants (90 days before admission) were half as likely as those who had not received these drugs. medicines.

Further statistical analysis revealed that recent antidepressant prescription was associated with approximately a 40% reduction in the likelihood of Covid-19 infection, and SSRIs were the only class of antidepressants to show such an association.

The researchers note that because of the research method they used, they could not guarantee that all patients who reported taking antidepressants were taking the drug during the study. However, they believe the association is strong enough to warrant further investigation in a wider population.

Doug Aarsland, Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry at King’s College London, points out that “while the effects of antidepressants on Covid-19 are interesting, we also plan to investigate the effects in other indications, including brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease ».