Neurological, Psychiatric, and Psychological Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Large-Scale Umbrella Review of Observational Studies

Abstract

Introduction In December 2019, the world witnessed the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which posed an extraordinary threat to global public health and human safety [1]. SARS-CoV-2, a highly contagious and pathogenic virus, rapidly disseminated across the world, causing a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In addition to pulmonary pathology, COVID-19 is now recognized as a systemic disease associated with a broad spectrum of manifestations (e.g., hematological, cardiovascular, renal, and neuropsychiatric) [2-4]. The mechanisms driving multi-organ damage may involve direct viral infection and toxicity, endothelial cell damage, dysregulated immune response, cytokine storm, and maladaptive functions of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system [3,4]. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests persistent and prolonged effects on multiple organs and the brain after the acute COVID-19 subsides