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According to an American study, people who have been infected with Covid-19 are more at risk of developing mental health disorders. Are singled out in particular anxiety, the risk of depression, stress or sleep disorders.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the various confinements it has generated have shown the need to take charge of mental health as a public health priority. But according to a study published in the British medical journal (BMJ), people who have been affected by Covid-19 are also more at risk from this point of view.
A large-scale study
To shed light on these findings, the researchers looked at data from more than 150,000 people at least 30 days after a positive PCR test result between March 2020 and January 2021. They compared them to two control groups without Covid- 19: 5,637,840 contemporary witnesses and 5,859,251 historical witnesses prior to the pandemic.
The covid-19 group was then divided into those who were or were not admitted to hospital during the acute phase of infection, and information was collected on potentially influential factors, such as age, gender, lifestyle and medical history. The scientists noted that the participants were mostly Caucasian men, with an average age of 63.
One-year follow-up
The researchers then followed the three groups for a year and regularly assessed the participants’ mental health across several items, including anxiety, depression, stress, substance use disorders, neurocognitive decline and sleeping troubles.
Results after one year of follow-up: compared to the uninfected control group, people with covid-19 showed a 60% higher risk of any diagnosis or prescription for a mental health problem (compared to two uninfected control groups) .
The researchers also noted that the risks were even higher in people admitted to hospital during the initial (acute) phase of Covid-19.
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A study with biases?
If the results may seem worrying, the researchers put them into perspective. They recall that this is an observational study, so it is impossible to establish the precise cause for this state of affairs.
In addition, the authors also acknowledge that the group studied is not representative of the general population (primarily older Caucasian men), so the results cannot be applied to other groups. However, this workprovides a clearer picture of the mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic”says Scott Weich, professor of mental health at the University of Sheffield in England.
Finally, the authors conclude by emphasizing the priority now represented by “the fight against mental health disorders in survivors of Covid-19″.