Covid infections increase the risk of mental health problems.coronavirus

With Covid-19, people are much more likely to develop new mental health conditions, and a new study examining millions of US health records over the year shows the existing crisis of suicide and overdose. May lead to.

The long-term effects of Covid are still being discovered, among which are more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness. They include depression, anxiety, stress, substance use disorders, cognitive decline, and an increased risk of sleep disorders. This is significantly different from others who have tolerated the stress of a pandemic but have not been diagnosed with the virus.

“This basically shows that millions of people infected with Covid in the United States have mental health problems,” said VA St. Louis Healthcare Systems Head of Research and Development and lead author of the paper. Ziyad Al-Aly says. “It makes us a afflicted country.”

He said he was particularly concerned about the high risk of mental illness, including suicidal ideation and opioid use.

“This is an almost perfect storm in front of us, about another opioid epidemic a few years later, another suicide crisis a few years later,” Al-Aly said. I added.

James Jackson, director of behavioral health at the ICU Recovery Center at Vanderbilt University, who was not involved in the study, said these unfolding crises were “extreme concerns.” He also sees patients whose previous conditions such as anxiety, depression, and opioid use disorders worsened during the pandemic.

According to experts, such studies show the need to follow patients weeks to months after a mild Covid diagnosis and seek immediate treatment for new disorders. “Now, if you pay attention to it and put it in a bud, you can literally save your life,” Alary said.

Over 18% of Covid patients developed mental health problems, compared to 12% of those who did not have Covid. study It was released on Wednesday.

The study followed more than 153,000 Covid-positive patients in the veterans’ medical system between March 2020 and January 2021 and compared them with other health records. The same stress of the pandemic, and 5.6 million patients seen before the pandemic.

Of all patients who developed new mental health problems during the pandemic, Covid patients had cognitive impairment (80%), sleep disorders (41%), depression (39%), and stress (38%). , Was significantly more likely to develop anxiety (38%). 35%) and opioid use disorder (34%) compared to those who did not have Covid.

This study included only patients with no history of mental health diagnosis in the last two years. We compared patients admitted with Covid with other illnesses and compared the results with thousands of influenza cases. Factors such as demographics, other health conditions, and other factors were also adjusted in this study.

All the results were clear: Covid has a significant impact on mental health.

People with high Covid severity, especially those requiring hospitalization, tend to be at higher risk. However, even people with mild or asymptomatic cases were more likely to be diagnosed with mental health.

“People who have been hospitalized have made it worse, but those who have not been hospitalized have a risk. [patients] This is important and never trivial. This represents the vast majority of people in the United States and the world, “says Al-Aly.

This study had some limitations. Most of what was analyzed were older white men. However, managing race, gender, and age did not change the risk.

Coronavirus can be found in the brain and has been shown in other studies. “We can actually see the virus in the amygdala, hippocampus-the very center responsible for regulating our mood and our emotions,” Al-Aly said.

According to Jackson, this study has been added to other studies that show that “mental health issues are a major concern” after Covid. And the results are consistent with what he sees in the patient.

“We are learning that Covid may be more problematic and influential than we thought,” Jackson said.

According to experts, early treatment of patients facing new or additional mental health challenges after Covid can make a decisive difference.

“The idea here is to identify patient data early and prevent this from becoming a much bigger problem in the future,” says Al-Aly. “If you leave the illness alone, it will only get worse.”

However, the longer the virus continues to circulate, the more long-term problems the virus can cause and the greater the pressure on the medical system.

“A wave of people with mental health disorders will hit the clinic next year or a few years as a result of Covid and as a result of a pandemic,” Al-Aly said.

And while many mental health professionals do not accept insurance and cause major disability to patients, others have long waiting lists.

“This is a huge issue and I’m not sure what we’re trying to do about it,” Jackson said. “Needs are much greater than resources.”

Jackson has set up a peer support group to provide counseling to patients dealing with long covids – brain fog, cognitive impairment, memory problems, inadequate feelings. The group is held at Zoom, so patients can join from all over the country.

“We need to pay attention to the long-term effects of Covid,” Al-Aly said. “If you pay attention only to the short-term consequences of the first 30 days or the first 90 days, you will actually miss the big picture.

“The pandemic itself was caught in the unprepared state of the United States. We will be caught again in the unprepared state for a long time,” Alary said. “In reality, Covid is producing long-term results, and we can’t just want it, wipe it under the rug, or not deal with it.”