Taking care of mental health It is as important as taking care of physical health. People often ignore problems with their mental health. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the incidence of neurological diseases and mental health problems among COVID survivors has been a cause for concern.
According to numerous studies, a significant percentage of people experience problems of this type, and the dangers are greater than those associated with other infections. Taking precautions against the virus to prevent additional health effects has become a priority COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
These difficulties were investigated in a recent study published in The Lancet Psychiatry. The researchers examined the prevalence of 14 major neurological and psychiatric conditions in these participants for up to two years in analyzes led by Maxime Taquet using the electronic health records of nearly 1.25 million people with COVID, mostly from the US.
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The researchers compared these risks with those of a very similar control group that had been identified with a respiratory infection other than COVID. Children (under 18 years of age), adults (18 to 65 years of age), and the elderly (over 65 years of age) were evaluated independently in the study.
The research findings indicated a combination of positive and negative effects. Fortunately, although experts found an increased chance of common psychological illnesses (such as anxiety and depression) after COVID infection, this elevated risk quickly decreased.
There was no overall excess of these conditions over the two-year period, and rates of these conditions among COVID patients were similar to those among patients with other respiratory infections within a few months. Positively, the results showed that children’s risk of developing these diseases was not higher at any time after COVID infection.
Furthermore, it was shown that COVID patients were not at increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, which had been a concern early in the epidemic. While still low overall, the chances of developing certain illnesses, such as psychosis, seizures or epilepsy, mental confusion, and dementia, increased over the course of the two years following COVID infection.
In the two years after COVID, for example, the risk of dementia in older people was 4.5% versus 3.3% in those with another respiratory infection. According to the research, Omicron is a considerably milder variant of the previous delta type, but the patients were nevertheless at a similar risk of developing neurological and behavioral disorders.
However, the data for people who contracted this strain of omicron only extends to approximately five months after infection due to the date it first appeared. The study paints a complex picture overall, with some diseases showing temporary added risk after COVID and others showing permanent danger.
In young people, the results are generally optimistic, but there are some alarming exceptions. Although omicron is a milder form overall and is currently globally dominant, data indicate that the burden of these diseases is likely to persist.
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The findings do not take into account people who may have had COVID but whose condition was not recorded in their medical records, possibly because they did not show any symptoms. Also, because less information is available on vaccination status and some research participants contracted COVID before vaccines were available, the study cannot adequately assess the effect of vaccination.
The study findings also show that the risks are related to those who have experienced previous respiratory illnesses. Researchers also don’t know the severity and duration of the illnesses.
Finally, because the study is observational, it cannot shed light on how or why COVID is related to these risks. The immune response to the infection, the prevalence of the virus in the neurological system or problems with the blood vessels are some of the current theories.
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