Over one-third of people ailing from the coronavirus have suffered from long-term mental health or neurological symptoms, according to researchers.
The researchers’ study, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, found that 34% of coronavirus survivors received a diagnosis for a neurological or psychological condition within six months of being infected, CNN reported.
Anxiety was the most common, diagnosed among 17% of those treated for COVID-19, followed by mood disorders, found in 14% of patients, CNN reported.
Though more severe in cases of hospitalization, the neurological symptoms are still common among those treated as outpatients, CNN reported.
“That rate increased progressively as the severity of the COVID-19 illness increased,” said Maxime Taquet, an academic clinical fellow in psychiatry at the University of Oxford and study co-author, CNN reported. “Our results indicate that brain diseases and psychiatric disorders are more common after COVID-19 than after flu or other respiratory infections, even when patients are matched for other risk factors.
“We now need to see what happens beyond six months,” Taquet said. “The study cannot reveal the mechanisms involved, but does point to the need for urgent research to identify these, with a view to preventing or treating them.”
