Intersections between pneumonia, lowered [O2] saturation .. & immune activation mediate depression, anxiety, & [CFS]-like .., 2021, Al-Jassas et al

Full title:
Intersections between pneumonia, lowered oxygen saturation percentage and immune activation mediate depression, anxiety, and chronic fatigue syndrome-like symptoms due to COVID-19: a nomothetic network approach.

Highlights

• COVID-19 is accompanied by chest CT scan anomalies (CCTAs), lowered SpO2 and immune activation.
• The immune activation is characterized by increased IL-6, IL-10, CRP, sRAGEs, and lower albumin and calcium.
• Increased CCTAs and lowered SpO2 are significantly associated with immune activation.
• Increased CCTAs and lowered SpO2 are significantly associated with depression, anxiety and physiosomatic symptoms.
• The effects of CCTAs/SpO2 on these neuropsychiatric symptoms are mediated by immune activation.

Abstract

Background
: COVID-19 is associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms including increased depressive, anxiety and chronic fatigue-syndrome (CFS)-like and physiosomatic symptoms.

Aims
: To delineate the associations between affective and CFS-like symptoms in COVID-19 and chest computed tomography scan anomalies (CCTAs), oxygen saturation (SpO2), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), albumin, calcium, magnesium, soluble angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2) and soluble advanced glycation products (sRAGEs).

Method
: The above biomarkers were assessed in 60 COVID-19 patients and 30 heathy controls who had measurements of the Hamilton Depression (HDRS) and Anxiety (HAM-A) and the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue (FF) Rating Scales.

Results
: Partial Least Squares-SEM analysis showed that reliable latent vectors could be extracted from a) key depressive and anxiety and physiosomatic symptoms (the physio-affective or PA-core), b) IL-6, IL-10, CRP, albumin, calcium, and sRAGEs (the immune response core); and c) different CCTAs (including ground glass opacities, consolidation, and crazy paving) and lowered SpO2% (lung lesions). PLS showed that 70.0% of the variance in the PA-core was explained by the regression on the immune response and lung lesions latent vectors. One common “infection-immune-inflammatory (III) core” underpins pneumonia-associated CCTAs, lowered SpO2 and immune activation, and this III core explains 70% of the variance in the PA core, and a relevant part of the variance in melancholia, insomnia, and neurocognitive symptoms.

Discussion
: Acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is accompanied by lung lesions and lowered SpO2 which may cause activated immune-inflammatory pathways, which mediate the effects of the former on the PA-core and other neuropsychiatric symptoms due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Open access, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016503272101123X

 

Even Google is throwing in the towel on this one. First I've seen of it. We have a new label, folks! It's going to be all the rage somewhere at some point.

 

It's bodily symptoms of the body. Duh.

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Physiosomatic would be the complement of psychosomatic. Somatic symptoms due to physical causes. It might be good to have this term take off.

 

Yes. Once again, going around in circles.