One in three Covid survivors ‘develop mental health problems’
New research suggest coronavirus pandemic may result in wave of neurological and psychiatric disorders
![Elderly Covid patient](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/r7mMzExonWqrfP2rRXyAfK-415-80.jpg)
Covid-19 patients have a significantly increased risk of developing brain disorders within six months of being infected with the coronavirus, a new study has found.
The analysis of data on 236,379 Covid survivors - outlined in a newly published paper in The Lancet - indicates that an average of one in three (34%) are subsequently diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition.
And people who suffer the most severe coronavirus infections are the most likely to be affected. The University of Oxford study found that such disorders occurred in 62% of people who during their Covid battle experienced encephalopathy - described as “delirium and other altered mental states”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That percentage dropped to 46% people who had been in intensive care with coronavirus, and to 39% of Covid patients admitted to hospital.
By comparing data from a control group “and taking into account underlying health characteristics such as age, sex, ethnicity, and existing health conditions”, the researchers also found that overall, the risk of developing brain problems was 44% greater after Covid than after flu of the same severity, The Independent reports.
The study was based on health records for mostly US patients dating from January to December 2020 and found that anxiety and mood disorders were the most prevalent diagnosis in the former Covid patients, at 17% and 14% respectively.
The risk of serious disorders affecting the nervous system also appears to increase post-Covid, with 7% of patients admitted to intensive care suffering a stroke within the following half year, and almost 2% diagnosed with dementia.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Oxford team “said it was not clear how the virus was linked” to the various conditions, reports Reuters.
Study co-author Professor Paul Harrison suggested that the mental health disorders could be linked to the “stress” of being diagnosed with the coronavirus,“rather than it being a direct effect” of Covid “on the brain, or the immune response to the virus on the brain”.
Meanwhile, fellow co-author Masud Husain noted that a question mark remains over whether conditions such as dementia and strokes were “a direct consequence of the virus or whether the effects of being ill on clotting, for example, on the immune system can have an effect”.
But whatever the reasons, the study paper warns that “given the size of the pandemic and the chronicity of many of the diagnoses” and resulting health effects, “substantial effects on health and social care systems are likely to occur”.
Independent experts have also described the latest findings as worrying.
“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.
“The impact Covid-19 is having on individuals’ mental health can be severe,” added Lea Milligan, chief executive of the MQ Mental Health research charity. “This is contributing to the already rising levels of mental illness and requires further, urgent research.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
Red Speedo: a 'darkly comic' doping drama
The Week Recommends Lucas Hnath's play stars Finn Cole as a 'reptilian' swimmer determined to win at all costs
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
One Aldwych: where London's creative spirit takes centre stage
The Week Recommends This five-star Covent Garden hotel is the epitome of elegant independence
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Charlotte Dujardin and equestrianism's dark side
In the Spotlight Olympic gold medallist and dressage star's suspension over horse whipping brings abuse in horse sports back into the spotlight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Brexit, Matt Hancock and black swans: five takeaways from Covid inquiry report
The Explainer UK was 'unprepared' for pandemic and government 'failed' citizens with flawed response, says damning report
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Should masks be here to stay?
Talking Points New York Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a mask ban. Here's why she wants one — and why it may not make sense.
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Covid might be to blame for an uptick in rare cancers
The explainer The virus may be making us more susceptible to certain cancers
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Long Covid and chronic pain: is it all in the mind?
The Explainer 'Retraining the brain' could offer a solution for some long Covid sufferers
By The Week UK Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published