A review of retrospective studies of 236,379 patients who survived COVID-19 shows that a third (33.6%) of them were having neurological or psychiatric problems six months later. Of that number, 12.8% reported that this was their first such diagnosis.
The data, which included stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, dementia and psychiatric disorders, were higher for those who had been hospitalized, with those who had experienced encephalopathy the highest.
Study authors said: “The study provides evidence for substantial neurological and psychiatric morbidity following COVID-19 infection. Risks were greatest in, but not limited to, those who had severe COVID-19.”
SOURCE: medRxiv Preprint January 24, 2021