COVID survivors run greater risk of mental illnesses

THE STUDY

Many COVID-19 survivors are likely to be at greater risk of developing mental illnesses, psychiatrists found after a large study showed that 20 per cent of those infected with the coronavirus were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within 90 days.

HEIGHTENED RISK OF DEPRESSION, DEMENTIA

Anxiety, depression and insomnia were most common among recovered COVID-19 patients in the study who developed mental health problems. Researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia, a brain impairment condition.

WHAT DO THE FINDINGS SAY

The study analysed electronic health records of 69 million people in the United States, including more than 62,000 cases of COVID-19.
In the three months following testing positive for COVID-19, 1 in 5 survivors were recorded as having a first time diagnosis of anxiety, depression or insomnia. This was about twice as likely as for other groups of patients in the same period, the researchers said.

MENTAL ILLNESSES ELEVATE RISK OF COVID-19

The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental illness were 65 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without.
Mental health specialists not directly involved with the study said these findings add to growing evidence that COVID-19 can affect the brain and mind, increasing the risk of a range of psychiatric illnesses.

PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER ARE AT GREATER RISK

Simon Wessely, Regius Professor of Psychiatry at King's College London, said the finding that those with mental health disorders are also at higher risk of getting COVID-19 echoed similar findings in previous infectious disease outbreaks.
"COVID-19 affects the central nervous system, and so might directly increase subsequent disorders. But this research confirms that is not the whole story, and that this risk is increased by previous ill health," he said.

NEW TREATMENTS REQUIRED FOR COVID-19 SURVIVORS

"People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings... show this to be likely," said Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry at Britain's Oxford University.
Doctors and scientists around the world urgently need to investigate the causes and identify new treatments for mental illness after COVID-19, Harrison said.

(The study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal)