Covid-19: one in three patients suffers from anxiety after infection: Current Woman The MAG


One year after the start of the pandemic, the mental health of the French, and more generally of the whole world, remains worrying. The various health restrictions put in place since the arrival of the virus certainly have their share of responsibility, but they are not the only ones involved. According to a new study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, one in three people who have overcome Covid-19 would suffer from anxiety and mood disorders within six months of infection. This is the biggest publication ever on the long-term effects of Covid-19.

17% suffer from anxiety

To carry out their study, scientists at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) studied the files of nearly 240,000 people who contracted the virus. Of these, 17% suffered from anxiety and 14% had developed mood disorders within six months of infection, or nearly a third of the panel. An increased risk for people with severe Covid. Neurological damage such as cerebral haemorrhages, strokes and cases of dementia have been discovered, in smaller proportions, among seriously ill patients hospitalized in intensive care.

Chronic or recurring disorders

These psychological and neurological disorders could last for many years after the illness. “Unfortunately, many of the disorders identified in this study tend to be chronic or recurrent, “ writes Dr Jonathan Rogers of the University of London (UCL) in a commentary published in the journal. “While the risk at the individual level of most of these disorders is low, the effect can be significant for health systems due to the scale of the pandemic “, notes Professor Paul Harrison, one of the study’s authors. According to him, health systems should adapt their services to deal with this type of disorder.

A new symptom which is added to the long list of those already listed to date: fatigue, fever, cough, loss of taste and smell, eye problems …

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