The main implications of the present findings necessitate an urgent investigation. According to a new study at Oxford University, nearly 20% of patients infected with Covid-19 developed a mental illness while anxiety, depression, and insomnia were most prevalent amongst improved patients in the examination.
The researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia, a brain impairment condition. “This finding was unexpected and needs investigation,” Max Taquet, co-author and academic clinical fellow at Oxford, informed The Guardian. “In the meantime, having a psychiatric disorder should be added to the list of risk factors for COVID-19.”
“People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings… show this to be likely,” Paul Harrison, co-author of the paper and psychiatry professor at Oxford, told Reuters.
In the new research, published in The Lancet, the researchers note there currently is no known physiological mechanism to causally connect COVID-19 with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders. But, the researchers also clearly state the effects detected in the study are large enough to demand an urgent investigation.
Perhaps it brings some solace to remember that everyone is in the same place; that all over the world, in universities and private labs, the best scientific minds of our time are working on developing vaccines that will help restore some normalcy to our lives. Until then, we must try to relax, to seek out reliable online resources that can help us, and share our fears and questions in online groups and forums for those with similar concerns. Continue reading on EK2.
Last Updated on 11/20/2020 by Emmanuel Motelin
