Researchers emphasize the importance of following up with patients after they have recovered to check for any new disease. According to research that looked at millions of health records in the US over a year, having Covid-19 puts people at a significantly higher risk of developing new mental health issues, potentially contributing to existing crises of suicide and overdoses.

2. Covid Infection Raises the Chance of
Mental Illness
“Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd”
Researchers emphasize the importance of following up with patients after
they have recovered to check for any new disease.
According to research that looked at millions of health records in the US over
a year, having Covid-19 puts people at a significantly higher risk of
developing new mental health issues, potentially contributing to existing
crises of suicide and overdoses.
The long-term effects of Covid are still being explored, and one of them is an
elevated risk of mental health issues diagnosis. Depression, anxiety, stress,
and an increased risk of substance use disorders, cognitive decline, and
sleep issues are among them — a stark contrast to those who experienced
the pandemic's stress but were not diagnosed with the virus.
“This is 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
research and development at the VA St Louis Healthcare System and senior
author of the paper. “That makes us a nation in distress.”
He is concerned about the increased risk of mental health issues, such as
suicidal thoughts and drug consumption.
“This is almost a perfect storm that is brewing in front of our eyes – for
another opioid epidemic two or three years down the road, for another
suicide crisis two or three years down the road,” Al-Aly added.
These escalating crises are "quite a big concern", according to James
Jackson, director of behavioral health at Vanderbilt University's ICU
Recovery Center, who was not involved in the research. He's also seeing

3. people whose pre-existing illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and opiate
use disorder, have gotten worse as a result of the pandemic.
According to the specialists, research like these demonstrates the evident
need to follow patients in the weeks and months following even minor Covid
diagnosis and to seek prompt treatment for any emergent illnesses. “If we
apply attention to it now and nip it in the bud, we could literally save lives",
Al-Aly added.
According to the study published on 16th Feb, more than 18 percent of Covid
patients suffered mental health difficulties, compared to only 12 percent of
individuals who did not receive Covid.
The researchers compared the health records of more than 153,000 patients
who tested positive for Covid in the Veterans Affairs health system between
March 2020 and January 2021 with those of 5.8 million people who did not
test positive during that time but experienced the same pandemic stress, and
5.6 million patients seen before the pandemic.
Covid patients were substantially more likely than non-Covid patients to
acquire cognitive issues (80%), sleep disorders (41%), depression (39%),
stress (38%), anxiety (35%), and opioid use disorder (34%), among all
patients who developed new mental health problems during the pandemic.
The study only looked at people who had not had a mental health diagnosis
in the previous two years. It compared the results of patients hospitalized for
Covid to those hospitalized for other illnesses, as well as thousands of flu
cases. Demographics, various health issues, and other variables were all
taken into account in the study.
The findings were unmistakable: Covid has a significant impact on mental
health.
Those with more severe cases of Covid, particularly those who require
hospitalization, are at a higher risk. Even individuals with minor or
asymptomatic symptoms were more likely to be diagnosed with mental
illness.

4. "People who were hospitalized had it worse," Al-Aly added, "but the risk in
non-hospitalized [patients] is significant and absolutely not trivial – and that
represents the majority of people in the US and the world".
The study had some drawbacks, such as the fact that the majority of the
participants were older white men. However, when race, gender, and age
were taken into account, no differences in risk were detected.
Other research has revealed that the coronavirus can be discovered in the
brain. "We can actually see the virus in the amygdala, in the hippocampus –
the very centers responsible for regulating our moods, regulating our
emotions" Al-Aly explained.
The study adds to other research showing that “mental health issues are a
huge concern” after Covid, Jackson said. And the results line up with what
he sees among patients.
“We’re learning that Covid maybe even more problematic and more impactful
than we thought,” Jackson said.
Early treatment of patients facing new or additional mental health challenges
after Covid can make a crucial difference, the experts said.
“The idea here is to identify patients’ data early to hopefully reduce this from
becoming a much larger problem down the road,” Al-Aly said. “If you leave a
disease unattended, it only gets worse.”
But the longer the virus continues circulating, the more long-term problems
it may create – adding even greater pressure to health systems.
“The wave of people with mental health disorders is going to be hitting the
clinics in the next year or two or three, as a result of Covid and as a result of
the pandemic,” Al-Aly said.
Furthermore, many mental health practitioners refuse to accept insurance,
posing a significant barrier for patients, while others have lengthy waiting
lists.
“This is a gigantic problem, and I’m not really sure what we’re going to do
about it,” Jackson said. “The needs are vastly greater than the resources.”

5. Jackson has established peer support groups to provide counseling to
individuals suffering from long-term Covid symptoms such as brain fog,
cognitive impairment, memory issues, and feelings of inadequacy. Patients
from all over the country can join the groups because they are held on Zoom.
“We need to pay attention to the long-term consequences of Covid,” Al-Aly
said. “If we only pay attention to the short-term consequences, the first 30
days or the first 90 days, we really, really are missing the larger picture.
“The pandemic itself caught the US unprepared, and we’re going to be
caught unprepared again for long Covid,” Al-Aly said. “The reality is that
Covid is producing long-term consequences, and we cannot just wish it away
or sweep it under the rug or not deal with it.”