People with mental illnesses are more likely to get dangerous forms of corona

People with mental illnesses face an increased risk of contracting and dying from more severe forms of Covid-19, according to a recent study that called for prioritizing these people in vaccination campaigns.

The situation can be attributed to “obstacles to the use of medical treatments” and to “immuno-inflammatory changes caused by mental disorders” themselves, or to the effects of the treatments they undergo, according to two of the authors of the study. study in a press release published by Fundamental, which brings together under its banner a network of researchers in the field of mental illness.

From the Corona vaccination campaign in the Philippines (archive)

This article presents a summary of 33 studies published on this issue in 22 countries, concluding that people with mental disorders are twice as likely to die from the coronavirus, compared to those without the virus.

This is especially true for people who suffer from psychotic disorders, mood swings, addiction or delays in mental development, but not for those who suffer from anxiety disorders.

In general, taking sedatives and antidepressants greatly increases the risk of death.

This study, published in the British “The Lancet Secret” on July 15, showed that patients with mental disorders run a 2.2 times higher risk of being hospitalized with Covid-19.

Another hypothesis put forward to explain this increased risk is “sedative therapies which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and blood clotting, affect the immune response and interact with drugs used to treat Covid-19”, according to Marion LeBoyer, director of the Fundamental. Foundation.

(expressive)

Livia de Becker from the University Hospital for Mental Disorders in Belgium, Livia de Becker, said: “We know that these patients face significant barriers to accessing medical care. Our results suggest that limited access to treatment may have played a role in the increase in deaths recorded in these cases. circles ”.

The authors of this study stress that the results “show the importance of adopting targeted approaches to prevent the spread of the virus among this group of patients”.

“Public health authorities should take targeted measures to ensure the widest immunization coverage for these people and to address the limited access to treatment,” said de Becker.