A study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients shows that 1 in 3 COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months. This study follows a previous study in 2020 by the same researchers who found that 20% of COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within three months.
Anxiety and mood disorders were the most common neurological disorders reported in the latest study. Post-COVID cases of stroke, dementia and other neurological disorders were rarer, the researchers said, but were still significant, especially in those who had severe COVID-19. Researchers also noted that mental disorders were significantly more common in COVID-19 patients than in comparison groups of people who recovered from flu or other respiratory infections over the same time period.
“This is a very important paper. It confirms beyond any reasonable doubt that COVID-19 affects both brain and mind in equal measure,” said Simon Wessely, chair of psychiatry at King’s College London.
SOURCE: Reuters, April 6, 2021