In a new study, researchers found that serious COVID-19 illness is linked to an increase in the risk of long-term adverse mental health effects.
The findings suggest that patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to experience depressive symptoms up to 16 months after diagnosis compared to those never infected.
Patients who were bedridden for seven days or more had higher rates of depression and anxiety, compared to people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 but never bedridden.
The pandemic upended many aspects of daily life, and the toll that social distancing requirements coupled with a general uncertainty has taken on many people’s mental health is well-documented.
In the study, the team looked at symptom-prevalence of depression, anxiety, COVID-19-related distress, and poor sleep quality among people with and without a diagnosis of COVID-19 from 0-16 months (mean follow-up 5.65 months).
The analysis drew upon data from seven cohorts across Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the UK.
Of the 247,249 people included, 9,979 (4%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 2020 and August 2021.
The team found overall, participants diagnosed with COVID-19 had a higher prevalence of depression and poorer sleep quality compared to individuals who were never diagnosed.
There were no overall differences between participants with or without COVID-19 in the rates of anxiety or COVID-related distress.
People diagnosed with COVID-19 but never bedridden due to their illness were less likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety than those not diagnosed with COVID-19.
The researchers state that one explanation for this is that the return to normal lives is a relief for these individuals while those still not infected are still anxious about the risk of infection and burdened by social isolation.
The analysis finds a clear reduction of some mental health symptoms such as depression and COVID-19-related distress with time.
By contrast, longer time bedridden was consistently associated with a higher prevalence of mental health effects.
Over 16 months, patients who were bedridden for seven days or more continued to be 50-60% more likely to experience higher depression and anxiety compared to people never infected during the study period.
The research is among the first to explore mental health symptoms after a serious COVID-19 illness in the general population up to 16 months after diagnosis.
It suggests that mental health effects aren’t equal for all COVID-19 patients and that time spent bedridden is a key factor in determining the severity of the impacts on mental health.
If you care about Covid, please read studies about new antiviral drug combo highly effective against COVID-19, and COVID-19 infection may boost your antibodies for up to 20 months.
For more information about Covid, please see recent studies that vitamin D3 could help people fight COVID-19 and other infections, and results showing these 2 things are key to stopping indoor COVID virus spread.
The study is published in The Lancet Public Health and was conducted by Professor Unnur Anna Valdimarsdóttir et al.
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