Psychosis is a multifactorial condition that typically involves delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thought, speech or behavior. The observation of an association between infectious epidemics and acute psychosis dates back to the last century. Recently, concerns have been expressed regarding COVID-19 and the risk for the development of new-onset psychosis. This article reviewed the current evidence of a possible link between SARS-CoV-2 and risk of psychosis as an acute or post-infectious manifestation of COVID-19. We here discuss potential neurobiological and environmental factors as well as a number of challenges in ascribing a causal pathogenic relationship between SARS-CoV-2 infection and new-onset psychosis.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 include several neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about the relationship between post-COVID-19 syndrome and suicidality. The aim of the study was to investigate the risk of suicide in subjects with persistent post-COVID-19 syndrome. One-thousand five-hundred eighty-eight subjects were assessed in the Post-Acute Care Service at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario “Agostino Gemelli” IRCCS of Rome. Assessment included: (a) sociodemographic characteristics; (b) symptoms during and after COVID-19; (c) psychopathological evaluation. Participants were divided in those with (SUI) or without (NON SUI) suicide risk according to the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Additionally, subjects with SUI were split into those with high (HIGH SUI) and low (LOW SUI) suicide risk. Between-group comparisons were made with t-tests for continuous variables and χ² tests for categorical variables. SUI showed greater percentages of physical complaints during and after COVID-19, greater percentages of psychiatric history and presence of psychiatric history in relatives, greater percentages of subjects previously undergoing psychopharmacotherapy, and greater levels of anxiety, mixed depressive symptoms, general psychopathology than NON SUI. HIGH SUI showed greater number of symptoms during and after COVID-19 and higher levels of mixed depressive symptoms than LOW SUI. Percentages of subjects undergoing psychotherapy was higher in LOW SUI than HIGH SUI. Greater levels of physical complaints and psychopathology during post-COVID-syndrome might enhance the risk of committing suicide. Treatment of physical complaints and psychotherapy might reduce suicide risk.

COVID-19 represents an overwhelming stressor to mental health. Elderly individuals are particularly at risk, but it is still unclear whether the risk is equally distributed among men and women. The aim of this study was to define gender differences in persistent psychiatric symptoms after COVID-19 illness and to test their association with resilience factors. Methods: We assessed 348 individuals aged >65 years at a multidisciplinary post-COVID-19 service. Mood and anxiety symptoms were investigated, as well as psychological distress and resilience, as assessed with the Kessler-10 (K10) Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), respectively. Multivariate and linear regression analyses were used to test the distribution patterns of psychiatric symptoms and resilience factors. Results: In the total sample, 214 (61.5%) were men (a mean age of 73.25 years ±6.04) and 134 (38.5%) were women (a mean age of 72.69 years ±6.43; p = 0.407). Men and women significantly differed in marital status (χ² = 25.17; p < 0.001, more men were married), living alone (χ² = 11.62; p < 0.01, fewer men were living alone), hospitalization during COVID-19 illness (χ² = 12.35; p < 0.001, more men were hospitalized during COVID-19), and subjective health status before COVID-19 infection (χ² = 4.32; p < 0.001, men reporting better subjective health than women). Women reported more psychiatric symptoms and fewer resilience factors than men. Low resilience levels significantly predicted psychological distress in both men and women. Conclusions: The female elderly population affected by COVID-19 showed a greater vulnerability to psychiatric symptoms. Our data point to the need to strengthen resilience resources, especially in women.

Childhood trauma is a significant environmental stressor linked to mood disorder. It can affect not only the individuals directly involved but also the next generation through the intergenerational transmission of trauma. This study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the co-occurrence of childhood trauma in youths with mood disorders and their parents. We assessed 443 individuals, 100 youths with DSM-5 mood disorders, 100 youths healthy controls (HCs), 92 s' parents and 161 adult HCs. History of childhood trauma was obtained using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). The distribution patterns of childhood trauma subtypes was estimated through a multivariate model. Intraclass correlations (ICC) were calculated to account for the familial clustering of the sample. We found significantly higher scores for Patients as compared to Young-HC in all the subtypes of childhood trauma (p < 0.05). Considering Parents and Adult-HC groups, Physical abuse (p = 0.001) and Emotional neglect showed higher scores in Parents (p < 0.001). Regarding the familial clustering of the sample, emotional (p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (p = 0.001), and emotional (p = 0.3) and physical neglect (p = 0.003) showed statistical significance, but only emotional abuse reveled a medium level ICC (0.25). Our study highlights the effect of intergenerational transmission of childhood trauma on the diagnosis of mood disorders in youths. Our findings underscore the significance of systematically assessing childhood trauma, in particular emotional abuse, in youths with mood disorders and their parents. Additionally, there is urgent need for evidence-based preventive measures aimed at promoting positive parenting strategies and emotionally supportive environments for children.