Causal Associations between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and COVID-19

Objective: We aimed to evaluate bidirectional genetic relationships between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and COVID-19.

Methods: We investigated potential causal associations between PTSD and two COVID-19 conditions (COVID-19 hospitalization and SARS-CoV-2 infection) via Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. Three genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary datasets were used in the study, including PTSD (N = 174,659), SARS-CoV-2 infection (N = 2,597,856), and COVID-19 hospitalization (N = 2,095,324). We performed a literature-based analysis to uncover molecular pathways connecting PTSD and COVID-19.

Results: We found that PTSD exerts a causal effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection (odds ratio (OR): 1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.21, p = 0.048) and hospitalized COVID-19 (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.07–1.67, p = 0.001). However, both SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalized COVID-19 were not associated with the risk of PTSD. Pathway analysis revealed that several immunity-related genes may link PTSD to COVID-19. Conclusions: Our study suggests that PTSD was associated with increased risks for COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Early diagnosis and effective treatment of PTSD in individuals infected with the coronavirus may improve the management of the outcomes of COVID-19.