Covid Infect. Increases Risk of Mental Health Disorders, Study. Brain Changes, Neuroinflammation

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Last edited Fri Feb 18, 2022, 07:41 PM - Edit history (1)

- The Guardian, Feb. 18, 2022. Ed. - Covid infection increases risk of mental health disorders, study finds. Researchers note need to follow patients after recovery for any emerging disorders. -

Having Covid-19 puts people at a significantly increased chance of developing new mental health conditions, potentially adding to existing crises of suicide and overdoses, according to new research looking at millions of health records in the US over the course of a year. The long-term effects of having Covid are still being discovered, and among them is an increased chance of being diagnosed with mental health disorders. They include depression, anxiety, stress and an increased risk of substance use disorders, cognitive decline, and sleep problems- a marked difference from others who also endured the stress of the pandemic but weren’t diagnosed with the virus.

“This is basically telling us that millions and millions of people in the US infected with Covid are developing mental health problems,” said Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of R&D at the Veterans Admin. St Louis Healthcare System & senior author of the paper. “That makes us a nation in distress.” The higher risk of mental health disorders, including suicidal ideation and opioid use, is particularly concerning, he said. “This is really almost a perfect storm that is brewing in front of our eyes- for another opioid epidemic 2 or 3 years down the road, for another suicide crisis 2or 3 years down the road,” he added. These unfolding crises are “quite a big concern”, said James Jackson, director of behavioral health at Vanderbilt Univ.’s ICU Recovery Center, who was not involved with this study.

He is also seeing patients whose previous conditions, including anxiety, depression and opioid use disorder, worsened during the pandemic.

Research like this shows the clear need to follow patients in the weeks and months after even mild Covid diagnoses and to seek quick treatment for any emerging disorders, experts said. “If we apply attention to it now and nip it in the bud, we could literally save lives,” Al-Aly said. More than 18% of Covid patients developed mental health problems, compared with 12% of those who did not have Covid, according to the study published on Wednesday. The study followed more than 153,000 patients who tested positive for Covid in the Veterans Affairs health system between March 2020 and Jan. 2021, and compared them with other health records: to 5.8 million people who did not test positive in that time, but lived through the same stresses of the pandemic, and with 5.6 million patients seen before the pandemic.

In all patients who developed new mental health problems during the pandemic, the Covid patients were significantly more likely to develop cognitive problems (80%), sleep disorders (41%), depression (39%), stress (38%), anxiety (35%) & opioid use disorder (34%), compared with those who didn’t have Covid. The coronavirus can be found in the brain, other studies have shown. “We can actually see the virus in the amygdala, in the hippocampus- the very centers responsible for regulating our moods, regulating our emotions.” The wave of people with mental health disorders is going to be hitting clinics in the next year or 2 or 3, as a result of Covid & as a result of the pandemic. Many mental health practitioners don’t accept insurance, creating a large stumbling block for patients, while others have long waiting lists...

More, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/18/covid-infection-increases-risk-mental-health-disorder-study
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Also:
- 'Small study finds Alzheimer's-like changes in some COVID patients' brains,' Science Daily, 2.3.22. Source: Columbia University Irving Medical Center, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220203122947.htm

- Neuroinflamm. from COVID-19 may cause dysexecutive syndrome, formation of authoritarian traits, Daily Kos, 2.14.22,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/2/14/2080244/-Neuroinflammation-from-COVID-19-may-cause-dysexecutive-syndrome-formation-of-authoritarian-traits