New Delhi, November 10:  A study shows that COVID-19 patients are likely to develop various mental illnesses including anxiety, depression and insomnia among others.  As per a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, 20 per cent of the  patients infected by coronavirus  were diagnosed with a mental disorder with 90 days of being tested positive for COVID-19. Paul Harrison,Professor of Psychiatry at Oxford University , told to Reuters,“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.” He added that doctors and scientists around the world "urgently need to investigate the causes and identify new treatments for mental illness after COVID-19."COVID-19 Triggers OCD and Anxiety in Children, Young People, Says Study.

 The researchers analysed 62,000 coronavirus-infected  patients in the USA and found that one in five survivors were diagnosed with anxiety, depression or insomnia three months of testing positive for COVID-19.  This was about twice as likely as for other groups of patients in the same period, the researchers said. They  also found significantly higher risks of dementia, a brain impairment condition in COVID-19 patients as compared to others. Coronavirus and Social Distance: Short People More Prone to Contract COVID-19, Must Maintain More Than 2-Metre Distance to Avoid Contracting the Virus, Suggest Singapore’s Researchers.

The study also noted that people with an already existing mental illness were 65 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without. Mental health specialists not directly involved with the study said its findings add to growing evidence that COVID-19 can affect the brain and mind, increasing the risk of a range of psychiatric illnesses.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 10, 2020 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).