Many COVID-19 survivors are likely to be at greater risk of mental illness, psychiatrists said on Monday, after a large study found nearly 20% of those infected with the coronavirus are diagnosed with a first or recurrent psychiatric disorder within 90 days. Anxiety, depression and insomnia were most common among recovered COVID-19 patients in the study with mental health problems, and the researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia. "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. "(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. The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, analysed electronic health records of 69 million people in the United States, including more than 44,000 cases of COVID-19. In patients with no previous psychiatric history, a diagnosis of COVID-19 was associated with increased incidence of a first psychiatric diagnosis in the following 14 to 90 days compared with six other health events (influenza, other respiratory tract infections, skin infection, gallstones or kidney stones, and fracture of a large bone). The risk was greatest for anxiety disorders, insomnia, and dementia. The incidence of any psychiatric diagnosis in the 14 to 90 days after COVID-19 diagnosis was 18.1%, including 5.8% that were a first diagnosis. The incidence of a first diagnosis of dementia in the 14 to 90 days after COVID-19 diagnosis was 1.6% in people older than 65 years. The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental illness were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without. Mental health specialists not directly involved with the study said its findings add to growing evidence that COVID-19 can affect the brain and mind, increasing the risk of a range of psychiatric illnesses. "This is likely due to a combination of the psychological stressors associated with this particular pandemic and the physical effects of the illness," said Michael Bloomfield, a consultant psychiatrist at University College London. 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. —Kate Kelland Source
