Health care workers care for a patient infected with the Chinese Communist virus (COVID-19) in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Brussels, Belgium, April 6, 2021.
The Chinese communist virus (COVID-19) not only damages the respiratory system, but may also cause mental and neurological problems. A recent U.S. study shows that 1 in 3 people who recover from CCP pneumonia suffer from neurological or psychiatric disorders.
The scientists who conducted the study said Tuesday (April 6) that their study analyzed the health records of 236,379 patients with CCHS, mostly from the United States, and that one in three recovered patients had been diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric disorder within six months. The results of the study were published in the British journal The Lancet Psychiatry.
The analysis showed that of the 14 psychiatric disorders presenting in patients with CCP pneumonia, the most common was anxiety at 17%; mood disorders accounted for 14% and did not appear to be related to the patient’s level of infection. Meanwhile, among those admitted to the intensive care unit for severe infection, 7% had a stroke within six months and nearly 2% were diagnosed with dementia.
Max Taquet, a psychiatrist at Oxford University in England, one of the experts who led the study, said their findings suggest that people infected with the CCA virus were more likely to develop brain disease and mental illness than a comparison group of people who recovered from influenza or other respiratory infections.
According to the researchers, who analyzed data comparing 105,579 people with influenza and 236,038 people with respiratory infections, people with the CCA virus had a 44 percent higher risk of developing neurological and psychiatric disorders than people with influenza and 16 percent higher than people with respiratory infections.
The study was unable to determine the biological or psychological mechanisms involved in these mental illnesses, but research is urgently needed to identify them as soon as possible in order to be able to prevent or treat them, Takei said.
“While most psychiatric disorders pose a small risk to individuals, the impact on the population as a whole can be significant.” said Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry at Oxford University who co-led the study.
The researchers stress that the exact causes of these long-term effects are largely unknown and require additional resources and more in-depth research. One limitation of the Oxford study is that the researchers only analyzed the records of people diagnosed with the CCA virus and did not consider people who had been infected but were asymptomatic.
Takei said there is a need to proactively establish follow-up strategies for people with the CCA virus. Health care providers should be prepared to meet the increased demand for evaluation and treatment of these mental illnesses.
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