Prevalence of Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Vitamin D Level in Long COVID: Preliminary Study

Abstract

Background: Long COVID is a condition where individuals continue to experience persistent symptoms after recovering from the initial COVID-19 infection. Vitamin D is one of the vital minerals for maintaining normal health conditions and may be associated with the psychiatric symptoms of long COVID.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in long COVID-19 patients in association with vitamin D levels.

Materials and Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design, focusing on 170 patients who had previously contracted the COVID-19 virus at Foresta Clinic. The data collected included demographic data, vitamin D levels, and psychiatric symptoms in long COVID (anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders).

Result: The study results indicated a female-to-male ratio of 1.1:1 among the patients, with a mean age of 45.87 ± 8.65 years. Additionally, 62.4% had received three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The median blood vitamin D level was 22.96 ng/mL (IQR 18.77, 31.7), with 41.2% of participants showing insufficiency, 30.6% showing deficiency, and 28.2% having sufficient levels. Overall, psychiatric symptoms were found in 30.0% of the patients, with anxiety occurring in 15.3%, depression in 7.1%, and sleep disorders in 21.2%. Participants with psychiatric symptoms had significantly lower blood vitamin D levels compared to those without symptoms (p < 0.05). The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms was highest among those with vitamin D deficiency (46.2%), followed by those with vitamin D insufficiency (25.7%), and it was lowest in the vitamin D sufficient group (18.8%).

Conclusion: Maintaining and assessing vitamin D levels in long-term COVID patients may help prevent or reduce the severity of psychiatric symptoms. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in long COVID patients with low vitamin D levels, as well as to monitor and assess psychological tests continuously.