Association of seropositivity for influenza and coronaviruses with history of mood disorders and suicide attempts

Abstract

Background-Anecdotal reports of mood disorder following infection with common respiratory viruses with neurotropic potential have been in existence since the last century. Nevertheless, systematic studies on the association between these viruses and mood disorders are lacking.Methods-Influenza A, B and coronavirus antibody titers were measured in 257 subjects with recurrent unipolar and bipolar disorder and healthy controls, by SCID. Pearson's χ 2 tests and logistic regression models were used to analyze associations between seropositivity for coronaviruses, influenza A and B viruses and the following: a) history of recurrent mood disorders b) having attempted suicide in the past c) uni-vs. bi-polarity and d) presence of psychotic features during mood episodes.Results-Seropositivity for influenza A (p=0.004), B (p<0.0001) and coronaviruses (p<0.0001) were associated with history of mood disorders but not with the specific diagnosis of unipolar or bipolar depression. Seropositivity for influenza B was significantly associated with a history of suicide attempt (p =0.001) and history of psychotic features (p =0.005).Limitations-The design was cross-sectional Socioeconomic factors, inflammatory markers, and axis II psychopathology were not assessed.Conclusions-The association of seropositivity for influenza and coronaviruses with a history of mood disorders, and influenza B with suicidal behavior require replication in larger longitudinal samples. The need for these studies is additionally supported by the high incidence of these viral infections, the high prevalence of mood disorders, and resilience of suicide epidemics.

Pollen counts and suicide rates. Association not replicated

“…One such factor could be the upper respiratory viral infections – influenza B IgG antibody titers, for instance, have been associated with suicide attempts (40). Additionally, common neurotropic infections with Toxoplasma gondii may be associated with suicide completions (41) and attempts (42–44).…”

Are we facing a crashing wave of neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19? Neuropsychiatric symptoms and potential immunologic mechanisms

“…While most studies have focused on history of influenza infection and psychosis risk, two studies have evaluated presence of antibodies against several strains of coronavirus in individuals with psychosis. No association was reported between seropositivity for HCoV-NL63 and history of psychotic symptoms in mood disorder patients in one study (Okusaga et al, 2011). However, Severance and colleagues (2011) found increased prevalence of antibodies against four HCoV strains in patients with a recent psychotic episode compared to non-psychiatric controls , suggesting a possible relationship between CoV infections and psychosis, which may also occur in SARS-CoV-2.…”

“…Separately, seropositivity for a human CoV strain (HCoV-NL63) has been associated with history of mood disorder, although not with its polarity (i.e. unipolar versus bipolar depression) or with history of suicide attempts (Okusaga et al, 2011). Although there are very limited data available for COVID-19-related psychiatric symptoms currently, survivors of SARS-CoV-1 were clinically diagnosed with PTSD (54.5%), depression (39%), pain disorder (36.4%), panic disorder (32.5%), and obsessive compulsive disorder (15.6%) at 31 to 50 months post-infection, a dramatic increase from their pre-infection prevalence of any psychiatric diagnoses of 3% (Lam, 2009).…”

Suicide and Lyme and associated diseases

“…T. gondii titers may quantify a proneness to suicidal behavior. In a sample of 20 European nations, the prevalence of T. gondii was positively associated with national suicide rates, and T. gondii seropositivity was associated with a sevenfold greater risk of self-directed violence 69–74…”