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Researchers say COVID-19 survivors are at greater risk of developing mental health problems than others. This information comes from a large study published earlier this week.
The study found that 20% of people infected with the novel coronavirus are diagnostic with a psychiatric cloudiness within 90 days.
Researchers at the British University of Oxford studied recovered COVID-19 patients who developed mental health problems. They found that the most common problems were anxiety, depression and insomnia – the inability to sleep. They also noted a much higher risk of dementia, a condition that weakens the brain.
Paul Harrison, professor of psychiatry at Oxford, is one of the researchers. He told Reuters news agency: “People are concerned that COVID-19 survivors are at higher risk for mental health issues, and our results … show that it is likely.
Harrison urged doctors and scientists around the world to urgently investigate the causes of mental disorders after COVID-19. And he wants them to find new treatments for the disease.
Health services must be ready to provide care, Harrison warned. This is especially true, he said, as the study’s estimates are likely low.
Oxford researchers looked at the electronic health records of 69 million people in the United States. That number included more than 62,000 cases of COVID-19. The researchers said the results would likely be the same for people infected with COVID-19 around the world.
Within three months of a positive test result for COVID-19, one in five survivors said they were first diagnosed with anxiety, depression or insomnia. Researchers said COVID-19 survivors were twice as likely to be diagnosed with these conditions as other patient groups during the same three-month period.
The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental disorder were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without.
A report on the study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry newspaper.
Mental health specialists not directly involved in the study said its findings add growing evidence that COVID-19 affects the brain. They said the disease can also increase the risk of many psychiatric disorders.
“This is probably due to a combination of stressors associated with this particular pandemic and the physical effects of the disease, ”noted Michael Bloomfield. He is a psychiatrist at University College London.
People with mental health disorders are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 confirms similar results in other infectious diseases epidemics, said Simon Wessely. He is professor of psychiatry at King’s College London.
“COVID-19 affects the central nervous system,” Wessely said, “and therefore could directly increase” other disorders. But he added that the study confirms that more is happening. The risk, he said, is heightened by pre-existing health conditions.
Marjorie Wallace is the leader of the SANE Mental Health Support Group. She said the study resembled her organization’s experience during the coronavirus health crisis.
Wallace said the SANE helpline is treating a growing number of new callers who have mental health issues. Others are relapse, she said, because their fear and anxiety have become unbearable.
I am Anna Matteo.
Kate Kelland’s reports reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in this story
diagnose – v. recognize illness, disease, etc., in (someone)
psychiatry – not. a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional or behavioral disorders psychiatric – adj.
anxiety – not. fear or nervousness about what might happen
dementia – not. a generally progressive disease (such as Alzheimer’s disease) marked by the development of multiple cognitive deficits (such as memory impairment, aphasia and the inability to plan and initiate complex behavior)
positive – adj. good or useful
newspaper – not. a periodical dealing in particular with current affairs
stressor – not. a stimulus that causes stress
epidemic – not. a sudden increase in the incidence of disease
relapse – not. the return of illness after a period of improvement
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