Researcher Kristen Nishimi said this may be because patients with certain psychiatric disorders may have a “reduced immune response to the vaccine”.
And the findings show that people with psychiatric disorders should be one of the priority groups for boosting vaccines and other preventative efforts, the researchers said.
The study, from the University of California, San Francisco, looked at data from 263,697 fully vaccinated patients who had access to health care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs between February 2020 and November 2021. They published their findings on Friday Open.
Of the cohort, 135,481 patients (51.4 percent) were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric condition, such as substance abuse, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, and anxiety.  In addition, 39,109 patients (14.8 percent) developed an unprecedented infection.
The researchers found that for patients under the age of 65, the risk of developing COVID-19 infection was up to 11 percent higher than for those diagnosed with a psychiatric condition.  And for patients 65 and older, the psychiatric history was up to 24 percent higher risk for COVID-19.
Given the higher incidence of revolutionary infections among older patients, Nishimi said the lower immune response to the vaccine associated with certain psychiatric disorders “may be more important in older adults”.
“(Elderly patients) may need more frequent personal care, which could increase their interactions with the healthcare system,” Nishimi said in a press release issued Thursday.
For both groups, risk factors were also adjusted for variables such as age, race, vaccine type, underlying diseases
“Our research suggests that increased pioneering infections in people with psychiatric disorders cannot be fully explained by sociodemographic factors or pre-existing conditions,” senior author Aoife O’Donovan told the news bulletin.  “Mental health is important to consider in conjunction with other risk factors.”
Risk factors varied depending on the type of disease.  For patients 65 and older, the study found that the risk of infection was 24 percent higher among people with a history of substance abuse, 23 percent higher for those with psychotic disorder, 16 percent higher for those with bipolar disorder, and 14 percent higher for those with bipolar disorder. adjustment disorder and 12 percent for stress.
O’Donovan says one possible explanation may be due to the weakening of immunity exacerbated by these mental health conditions.
“Immunity after vaccination is likely to decline more rapidly or more sharply for people with psychiatric disorders and / or they may have less protection in newer variants,” he said.