Posted on 04/07/2021 9:17:56 AM PDT by Red Badger
One in three people who overcome COVID-19 suffer from a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis six months on, according to the largest study so far published on the mental toll that long-COVID takes on survivors.
Authors said the research, printed Wednesday in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, proved that COVID-19 patients were significantly more likely to develop brain conditions than those suffering from other respiratory tract infections.
Studying the health records of more than 230,000 patients who had recovered from COVID-19, they found that 34 percent were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months.
The most common conditions were anxiety (17 percent of patients) and mood disorders (14 percent).
For 13 percent of patients the disorders were their first diagnosis of a mental health issue.
Incidence of neurological disorders such as brain hemorrhage (0.6 percent), stroke (2.1 percent) and dementia (0.7 percent) was lower overall than for psychiatric disorders but the risk for brain disorders was generally higher in patients who had severe COVID-19.
The authors also examined data from more than 100,000 patients diagnosed with influenza and more than 236,000 diagnosed with any respiratory tract infection.
They found there was overall a 44 percent greater risk of neurological and mental health diagnoses after COVID-19 than after flu, and a 16 percent higher risk than with respiratory tract infections.
Paul Harrison, lead author from the University of Oxford, said that while the individual risk of neurological and psychiatric orders from COVID-19 was small, the overall effect across the global population could prove to be "substantial".
"Many of these conditions are chronic," he said.
"As a result, health care systems need to be resourced to deal with the anticipated need, both within primary and secondary care services."
'Severe impact' Patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 were at great risk of developing long-term conditions, according to the analysis.
For example, 46 percent of patients who needed intensive care were diagnosed with neurological or psychiatric conditions within six months of recovery.
The data showed 2.7 percent of people needing intensive care suffered a subsequent brain hemorrhage, compared to 0.3 percent of people who weren't hospitalized.
And nearly 7 percent of those needing ICU care suffered a stroke, compared with 1.3 percent of patients who didn't.
Writing in a linked comment article, Jonathan Rogers from University College London, said further research was needed on the long-term neurological and psychiatric outcomes among COVID-19 patients.
"Sadly, many of the disorders identified in this study tend to be chronic or recurrent, so we can anticipate that the impact of COVID-19 could be with us for many years," said Rogers, who was not involved in the study.
"It is clear from this study that the impact COVID-19 is having on individuals mental health can be severe," said Lea Milligan, CEO of the MQ Mental Health research group.
"This is contributing to the already rising levels of mental illness and requires further, urgent research."
It’s easy to dismiss this as yet more panic/crisis theater. But, I think it’s important not to lose sight of the very real possibility this is not a virus of natural origin. If it was born in a lab - and I think that’s the most likely origin - we have no idea exactly what it was designed to do.
All I know is a year after it was turned loose on the world, China is more powerful in every meaningful way than it ever was before.
This is a study....which means it is a projection and not necessarily fact....certainly subject to scrutiny.
Ridiculous. I survived and have no issues nor does anyone else I know. It was all over NY.
So 31% of the 34% had mood disorders and/or anxiety. How does that jive with the norm. Betcha really, really close.
Pfffttt. By now, anyone who has been forced to wear diaper masks for over a year should have lost their minds.
Some psychological problems probably because we now think of people as death machines due to breathing, and these covid-patients got blamed for passing the condition on to others.
So do 1 in 3 who never had Covid, I expect. I am not buying that it is caused by Covid.
Couldn’t be an overdose of fear porn. . .
Oh goody. A new non-stop melodrama topic.
It’s not really ridiculous. I have a friend who had Covid and he has anxiety issues which he never had before. Also knowing how the disease manifest itself with a hypercoagulable state there could be issues going on with reduced cerebral blood flow thus causing issues with the mental state due to diminished blood flow...so it’s not ridiculous but a great likelihood
What a mess I am.!!
For 13 percent of patients the disorders were their first diagnosis of a mental health issue. So 87% of patients already had a diagnosis of a mental health issue? Something doesn’t seem right.
I would look at anxiety and mood disorders as likely the result of the media fear porn industry.
Wow. So 87% had a previous mental health issue! Of course, that probably comports with the general population.
A friend of mine is one of the foremost brain surgeons in the country and he has been operating on lots of 20 and 30 somethings with brain hemmorhages and strokes due to covid. It’s scary stuff.
Sick people have anxiety issues that continue....period.
The most common conditions were anxiety (17 percent of patients) and mood disorders (14 percent).
For 13 percent of patients the disorders were their first diagnosis of a mental health issue.
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Part of the neurosis should be laid at the feet of the media who have hammered people over the head for over a year about Covid.
Agree! People need to grow up. These “conditions” wouldn’t even have been an issue 25 years ago, but this “touchy-feely” generation needs to find a problem with everything. Whatta crock!
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