Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) and Nonpsychiatric Control Subjects in Clinical Trials.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with serious mental illness (SMI), specifically relating to psychiatric morbidity, pandemic-induced stress, and ability to cope with pandemic-related precautionary measures, restrictions, and disruptions to daily life.

Design: A cross-sectional survey study of 277 clinical trial patients was conducted. This sample included nonpsychiatric controls (n=139) and patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), or schizophrenia (n=138) located at five clinical trial sites across the United States.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Patients at Clinical Trial Sites.

Introduction: Recent research on the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that individuals who suffer from serious mental illness (SMI) are at heightened risk of infection and have increased mortality due to their illness and/or lack of access to healthcare. Consequently, progress in developing new treatments for SMIs has been disrupted, with many interruptions to clinical trials in psychiatry due to concerns regarding the pandemic and its risks to patients with SMI.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with SMI, specifically relating to psychiatric morbidity, pandemic-induced stress, and ability to cope with pandemic-related precautionary measures, restrictions, and disruptions to daily life.