One in five people who overcome COVID-19 suffer from a mental illness

Doctors have long reported that SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to neurological changes in humans. Recent research by researchers from the University of Oxford and the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Center has shown that nearly one in five patients with COVID-19 have a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety disorder, or insomnia.

According to experts, people diagnosed with mental illness before the pandemic were up to 65 percent more likely to be infected with the virus. The researchers analyzed the medical records of 70 million Americans, including more than 62,000 cases of COVID-19 who did not require hospitalization or an emergency room visit. The analysis showed that over 18% of patients were diagnosed with a mental disorder.

The experts also compared the data with six other health problems such as flu, other respiratory infections, skin infections, or gallstones. All to find out if the new virus is responsible for the deterioration of patients’ mental health. It was shown that within three months, 6% of COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with a mental disorder. In the case of other diseases, 2.5-3.4% of patients had such problems.

British research isn’t the first to suggest that a new pathogen may affect the functioning of the nervous system. Numerous studies show that SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection can lead to encephalitis, nerve damage and even stroke.

Although research suggests a clear link between COVID-19 and mental illness, experts don’t want to state that these problems are caused by the coronavirus alone. According to them, this can only be confirmed or refuted after the implementation of further research, which will also take into account socio-economic status, lifestyle, drug use trend, place of residence or workplace.

In this context, it is worth paying attention to the survey “How are you Slovakia? “, Which carried out by the Slovak Academy of Sciences together with the MNFORCE and Seesame agencies, on a representative sample of 1,000 Slovaks. It shows that nearly half of the respondents (48.2%) experienced depressive feelings often or occasionally during a pandemic. At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the number of people suffering from depression could increase as a result of the pandemic.

Experts agree that domestic relationships or the work situation played an important role during the pandemic. Respondents who reported that relationships in their family had deteriorated during the pandemic confirmed that their mental conditions had also deteriorated. At the same time, Slovaks who have changed their employment situation or whose job position is in danger due to the pandemic have more often perceived the general deterioration of their mental state.

According to the president of the Slovak Psychiatric Society MUDr, it is important to monitor depressive feelings in Ľubomír Izáková. “Untreated depression significantly reduces the patient’s quality of life, does not allow him to function normally and in severe cases can directly endanger his life. However, many people underestimate the disease and don’t seek professional help. Do not do itWe will feel the effects of this long-term mental health crisis. It is all the more important to address mental health in Slovakia in a deeper and more comprehensive way “, closes Izáková.

Sources: Oxford Health, SAV