Up to 1 in 3 people infected with Covid-19 have mental health problems or long-term neurological symptoms, according to a study.
Experts found that 34% of Covid-19 survivors were diagnosed with a neurological or psychological condition within six months of their infection, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry.
The most common diagnosis was anxiety, present in 17% of those treated for Covid-19, followed by mood disorders (14% of patients).
Although the neurological effects are more severe in hospitalized patients, they are also common in those who are not hospitalized.
The results help shed light on how the health care system should continue to help Covid-19 survivors, the researchers said.
"This rate increased progressively as the severity of Covid-19 disease increased," said Maxime Taquet, an academic in psychiatry at Oxford University and a co-author of the study.
"Our results show that brain diseases and psychiatric disorders are more common after Covid-19 than after the flu or other respiratory infections. Now we need to see what happens after six months," Taquet added.
Although data may be limited, the study provides a comprehensive picture of the long-term burden that the pandemic will have.
Source: CNN, The Lancet
