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Covid-19 link to strokes, psychiatric problems concerns health experts
- Study of 236,000 US patients finds 34 per cent were diagnosed with mental or neurological conditions within six months of being infected with the coronavirus
- Results ‘provide a strong argument for the inclusion of mental health assessment and support as part of the standard aftercare pathway for survivors of Covid-19’, clinical adviser to mental health charity says
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Health organisations say they are concerned by the findings of a new study that suggests more than a third of Covid-19 survivors go on to suffer neurological or psychiatric problems, and have called for more research and monitoring.
Scientists from the United States and Oxford University in Britain studied the electronic health records of more than 236,000 coronavirus patients, mostly from the US, and found that 34 per cent were diagnosed with mental or neurological conditions within six months of being infected, according to a study published on Tuesday in medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry.
The most common mental disorders were anxiety, which affected 17 per cent of the patients, and mood swings at 14 per cent. Neurological conditions were not uncommon in those seriously ill with Covid-19, with 7 per cent of patients suffering a stroke and almost 2 per cent of patients being diagnosed with dementia, the research found.
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The risk of these conditions for coronavirus survivors was 44 per cent higher than for the flu and 16 per cent higher than for other respiratory tract infections, it said.
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Dr Richard Francis, who heads research at Britain’s the Stroke Association, said he was concerned with the findings and called for more research.
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