Behavioural health issues in post coronavirus disease (COVID) syndrome and suicide risk: A narrative review

Background and Objective: Post coronavirus disease (COVID) syndrome includes a wide range of signs and symptoms among which symptoms ascribable to behavioural health issues are as high as 30% for different sub-domains. Recognizing the etiologic role played by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is still a matter of debate, since many psychosocial and interactional factors connected to the pandemic dynamics are affecting behavioral health globally. Suicide risk in people who experienced coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been investigated by a relative paucity of studies. Objective of this narrative review is seeking to summarize published evidence on behavioural health issues and suicide risk in post-COVID syndrome, alongside investigating the potential involvement of neuroinflammation. Methods: This narrative review attempts on summarizing evidence published between 25 th December 2019 and 1 st June 2022 about behavioural health issues and suicide risk in post-COVID syndrome, and the possible role of neuroinflammation. This work was produced identifying the research question, search methods to define relevant studies, study selection, and summarising data and reporting results. A search was run on PubMed using appropriate mesh terms, only publications in English were included. Key Content and Findings: Hyperinflammation is considered a central actor in COVID-19 and neuroinflammatory damage is thought to be a putative pattern of pathogenesis of neuronal and behavioural health issues connected to increased suicide ideation and behaviour. A prolonged inflammatory status is thought to play a role in driving behavioural health issues in post-COVID syndrome patients. Based on reported data, the risk of behavioral health issues in post-COVID syndrome is comparable to or slightly higher than that in non-post-COVID syndrome cases. This variation spans similar rates to a 10-30% increase across different subdomains. The role of direct viral damage and social factors in the context of public health strategies is discussed. Conclusions: More endeavors are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the actual influence of virological and neuro-inflammatory factors on behavioural health disorders associated with post-COVID syndrome. Additionally, emphasis should be placed on public health strategies dedicated to preventing and supporting individuals facing these challenges.