Many COVID-19 survivors are likely to be at greater risk of developing mental illness, psychiatrists said, after a large study found 20 per cent of those infected with the coronavirus are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within 90 days. Anxiety, depression and insomnia were most common among the study’s recovered COVID-19 patients who developed mental health problems, and the researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia, a brain impairment condition.
According to the report Trusted Source published in The Lancet, 18 per cent of COVID-19 patients developed a mental health issue — like depression, anxiety, or dementia — within 3 months of diagnosis. Their risk was doubled compared to people who didn’t have COVID-19. Doctors have suspected that COVID-19 was linked to higher rates of mental health problems. A recent surveyTrusted Source from Ecuador has also shown that people diagnosed with COVID-19 commonly experience anxiety, insomnia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Though researchers are still working to understand exactly how the new coronavirus impacts not just the mind but brain function, this new research helps to further establish the link.
The study also looked at whether existing mental health problems put a person at a higher risk of infection. The answer is a ringing yes. “Having a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder in the year before the epidemic was associated with a 65% increased risk of Covid-19,” the study said. A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) in October says autopsies of deceased Covid-19 patients show evidence of inflammation in the brain. Neuroimaging studies have detected a neurological disorder called leukoencephalopathy and micro bleed in critical patients.
Two main factors could explain why people tend to develop anxiety and depressive symptoms, according to the study’s author.
“The virus might be directly affecting the brain in some ways, maybe through the immune system, which leads to the mental health problem,” said Paul Harrison, author of the study and professor of psychiatry at the United Kingdom’s University of Oxford. “But more importantly, the experience of having had COVID-19 and understanding all the things that might have happened to you with all the fears and concerns that the virus led people to have, may also be a reason. Health services need to be ready to provide care, especially since our results are likely to be underestimates of the number of psychiatric patients,” he added.
A study from China after the first wave found 9 per cent of 99 patients studied suffered from a state of confusion. A few months later, JAMA Neurology published another study of 214 patients in China. At least 78 patients were found to have neurologic manifestations. Some studies have also pointed towards cautious use of steroids which act as a double-edged sword and can cause neuropsychiatric problems among patients.
