Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis
Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased neuropsychiatric conditions in children and youths, with evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute additional risks beyond pandemic stressors. This study aims to assess the full spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61961-1 |
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| author | Yiwen Lu Jiayi Tong Dazheng Zhang Jiajie Chen Lu Li Yuqing Lei Ting Zhou Leyna V. Aragon Michael J. Becich Saul Blecker Nathan J. Blum Dimitri A. Christakis Mady Hornig Maxwell M. Hornig-Rohan Ravi Jhaveri W. Schuyler Jones Amber Brown Keebler Kelly Kelleher Susan Kim Abu Saleh Mohammad Mosa Kathleen Pajer Jonathan Platt Hayden T. Schwenk Bradley W. Taylor Levon H. Utidjian David A. Williams Raghuram Prasad Josephine Elia Christopher B. Forrest Yong Chen |
| author_facet | Yiwen Lu Jiayi Tong Dazheng Zhang Jiajie Chen Lu Li Yuqing Lei Ting Zhou Leyna V. Aragon Michael J. Becich Saul Blecker Nathan J. Blum Dimitri A. Christakis Mady Hornig Maxwell M. Hornig-Rohan Ravi Jhaveri W. Schuyler Jones Amber Brown Keebler Kelly Kelleher Susan Kim Abu Saleh Mohammad Mosa Kathleen Pajer Jonathan Platt Hayden T. Schwenk Bradley W. Taylor Levon H. Utidjian David A. Williams Raghuram Prasad Josephine Elia Christopher B. Forrest Yong Chen |
| author_sort | Yiwen Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased neuropsychiatric conditions in children and youths, with evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute additional risks beyond pandemic stressors. This study aims to assess the full spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions in COVID-19 positive children (ages 5–12) and youths (ages 12–20) compared to a matched COVID-19 negative cohort, accounting for factors influencing infection risk. Using EHR data from 25 institutions in the RECOVER program, we conduct a retrospective analysis of 326,074 COVID-19 positive and 887,314 negative participants matched for risk factors and stratified by age. Neuropsychiatric outcomes are examined 28 to 179 days post-infection or negative test between March 2020 and December 2022. SARS-CoV-2 positivity is confirmed via PCR, serology, or antigen tests, while negativity requires negative test results and no related diagnoses. Risk differences reveal higher frequencies of neuropsychiatric conditions in the COVID-19 positive cohort. Children face increased risks for anxiety, OCD, ADHD, autism, and other conditions, while youths exhibit elevated risks for anxiety, suicidality, depression, and related symptoms. These findings highlight SARS-CoV-2 infection as a potential contributor to neuropsychiatric risks, emphasizing the importance of research into tailored treatments and preventive strategies for affected individuals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a9a762a657eb447f8aa52480e4d9f647 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a9a762a657eb447f8aa52480e4d9f6472025-08-20T04:02:57ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-61961-1Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysisYiwen Lu0Jiayi Tong1Dazheng Zhang2Jiajie Chen3Lu Li4Yuqing Lei5Ting Zhou6Leyna V. Aragon7Michael J. Becich8Saul Blecker9Nathan J. Blum10Dimitri A. Christakis11Mady Hornig12Maxwell M. Hornig-Rohan13Ravi Jhaveri14W. Schuyler Jones15Amber Brown Keebler16Kelly Kelleher17Susan Kim18Abu Saleh Mohammad Mosa19Kathleen Pajer20Jonathan Platt21Hayden T. Schwenk22Bradley W. Taylor23Levon H. Utidjian24David A. Williams25Raghuram Prasad26Josephine Elia27Christopher B. Forrest28Yong Chen29Center for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaRECOVER Patient, Caregiver, or Community Advocate RepresentativeDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineDepartment of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of MedicineDivision of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaCenter for Child Health, Behavior and Development, Seattle Children’s Research InstituteRECOVER Patient, Caregiver, or Community Advocate RepresentativeRECOVER Patient, Caregiver, or Community Advocate RepresentativeDivision of Infectious Diseases, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of ChicagoDuke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Health SystemDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical CenterThe Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of MedicineUniversity of California, San Francisco, Division of Rheumatology, Benioff Children’s HospitalDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, and Medical Epidemiology, University of Missouri School of MedicineUniversity of Ottawa Department of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, OttawaDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Iowa College of Public HealthStanford School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Infectious DiseasesClinical and Translational Science Institute, The Medical College of WisconsinApplied Clinical Research Center, Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of MichiganDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, the University of PennsylvaniaDepartment of Pediatrics, Nemours Children’s Health Delaware, Sydney Kimmel School of MedicineApplied Clinical Research Center, Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaCenter for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of PennsylvaniaAbstract The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased neuropsychiatric conditions in children and youths, with evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection may contribute additional risks beyond pandemic stressors. This study aims to assess the full spectrum of neuropsychiatric conditions in COVID-19 positive children (ages 5–12) and youths (ages 12–20) compared to a matched COVID-19 negative cohort, accounting for factors influencing infection risk. Using EHR data from 25 institutions in the RECOVER program, we conduct a retrospective analysis of 326,074 COVID-19 positive and 887,314 negative participants matched for risk factors and stratified by age. Neuropsychiatric outcomes are examined 28 to 179 days post-infection or negative test between March 2020 and December 2022. SARS-CoV-2 positivity is confirmed via PCR, serology, or antigen tests, while negativity requires negative test results and no related diagnoses. Risk differences reveal higher frequencies of neuropsychiatric conditions in the COVID-19 positive cohort. Children face increased risks for anxiety, OCD, ADHD, autism, and other conditions, while youths exhibit elevated risks for anxiety, suicidality, depression, and related symptoms. These findings highlight SARS-CoV-2 infection as a potential contributor to neuropsychiatric risks, emphasizing the importance of research into tailored treatments and preventive strategies for affected individuals.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61961-1 |
| spellingShingle | Yiwen Lu Jiayi Tong Dazheng Zhang Jiajie Chen Lu Li Yuqing Lei Ting Zhou Leyna V. Aragon Michael J. Becich Saul Blecker Nathan J. Blum Dimitri A. Christakis Mady Hornig Maxwell M. Hornig-Rohan Ravi Jhaveri W. Schuyler Jones Amber Brown Keebler Kelly Kelleher Susan Kim Abu Saleh Mohammad Mosa Kathleen Pajer Jonathan Platt Hayden T. Schwenk Bradley W. Taylor Levon H. Utidjian David A. Williams Raghuram Prasad Josephine Elia Christopher B. Forrest Yong Chen Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis Nature Communications |
| title | Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis |
| title_full | Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis |
| title_fullStr | Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis |
| title_short | Risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a difference-in-differences analysis |
| title_sort | risk of neuropsychiatric and related conditions associated with sars cov 2 infection a difference in differences analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61961-1 |
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