Researchers have revealed that 1 in 8 people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 go on to develop a neurological or psychiatric illness within 6 months of their diagnosis.
A study carried out at the University of Oxford showed that the figure rose to 1 in 3 individuals who had previously experienced a neurological or psychiatric impairment. Such aftereffects of Covid-19 include stroke, depression, anxiety and PTSD. The number included 1 in 9 people who were not hospitalised showing that the potential damage may be severe even if the initial illness was regarded as being mild.
The research looked at 236,379 patients in the United States who had been infected with Covid-19, this included patients who were and were not hospitalised. Prior research had suggested that the number of those suffering from a brain disorder could be as high as 1 in 5.
Dr. Max Taquet, who was the lead author of the study, said:
"For diagnoses like a stroke or an intracranial bleed, the risk does tend to decrease quite dramatically within six months … but for a few neurological and psychiatric diagnoses we don't have the answer about when it's going to stop."
Asked as to how long he thought these side-effects may exist after infection, Dr. Taquet said:
"I don't think we have an answer to that question yet."
The study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, does not conclusively prove that Covid-19 is behind these neurological issues, but other emerging research does indicate that Covid-19 can have a significant effect on the brain.
The academic journal 'Brain' last year stated that multiple Covid-19 patients had been diagnosed with a condition called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a deadly inflammation of the brain and that nerve problems, Guillain-Barre syndrome, strokes and psychosis had also been seen in patients. There is also a very large amount of evidence emerging regarding so-called 'long-Covid' in which patients experience brain-fog and fatigue leaving them unable to concentrate or physically exert themselves for months after their initial infection.
Dr. Tim Nicholson, a psychiatrist at King's College hospital, said that the findings would help steer future research and surveillance of those who had been infected with Covid-19. He said:
"I think particularly this raises a few disorders up the list of interests, particularly dementia and psychosis … and pushes a few a bit further down the list of potential importance, including Guillain-Barré syndrome."
There have currently been over 100 million official Covid-19 infections worldwide, and over 2 million deaths from the disease. The real number infected though is thought to be vastly higher as mass testing did not exist in most places during the first wave of the virus in the spring of 2020.
h/t: The Guardian
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