In an Oxford University study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients, one in three COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months.
Researchers who conducted the analysis said it was not clear how the virus was linked to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, but that these were the most common diagnoses among the 14 disorders they looked at.
The study published in Lancet Psychiatry Journal, found that anxiety, at 17%, and mood disorders, at 14%, were the most common, disorders, and did not appear to be related to how mild or severe the patient’s COVID-19 infection had been.
Among those who had been admitted to intensive care with severe COVID-19 however, 7% had a stroke within six months, and almost 2% were diagnosed with dementia. And while the neurological effects are more severe in hospitalized patients, they are still common in those who were only treated in an outpatient setting, the researchers note. “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.