Nearly 1 in 5 people with COVID-19 received a psychiatric diagnosis in the first 14 to 90 days after their initial infection diagnosis, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal Nov. 9.
That may be due to the virus's effect on the brain, immune system response or psychological reactions, researchers told CBS.
"The psychological reactions people have to having COVID, having worried about their life perhaps for the first time, having worried about the future — in a way, COVID is simply acting as another major stressor event, rather than some direct viral effect," Dr. Paul Harrison, study author, told CBS.
Dr. Harrison's research team used TriNetX Analytics Network, which houses EHR data on nearly 70 million patients, and identified 62,354 people who had COVID-19 between January and August. Researchers then assessed whether the novel coronavirus was linked to increased rates of future psychiatric disorders, dementia and insomnia. They compared the risk to six other health events including the flu and other respiratory tract infections.
Results showed 18 percent of people who had COVID-19 were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder in the first 90 days after virus infection. Out of that group, anxiety was the most commonly diagnosed disorder, and nearly 6 percent had never had a psychiatric diagnosis before.
A secondary finding indicated people diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder in the previous year had a 65 percent higher risk of COVID-19 infection, which may be related to the socioeconomic and lifestyle factors people with psychiatric disorders experience.
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