According to new research, having Covid-19 increases the chance of developing new mental health conditions, potentially adding to existing crises of suicide and overdoses.
The long-term effects of having Covid are still being discovered, and among them is an increased chance of being diagnosed with mental health disorders. They include depression, anxiety, stress, and an increased risk of substance use disorders, cognitive decline, and sleep problems, a marked difference from others who also experienced stress but weren't diagnosed with the virus.
Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA St Louis healthcare system, said that millions of people in the US are developing mental health problems because of Covid.
He said that the higher risk of mental health disorders is concerning.
This is almost a perfect storm that is coming in front of our eyes, for another opiate epidemic two or three years down the road, for another suicide crisis two or three years down the road.
James Jackson, director of behavioral health at the ICU Recovery Center, was not involved in the study. He is seeing patients with previous conditions that worsened during the Pandemic.
If we apply attention to it now and nip it in the bud, we could literally save it.
More than 18% of Covid patients developed mental health problems, compared with 12% of those who did not have Covid, according to a study published on Wednesday.
The study followed more than 153,000 patients who tested positive for Covid in the Veterans Affairs health system between March 2020 and January 2021, and compared them with other health records: to 5.8 million people who did not test positive in that time, but lived through the same stresses of the pandemic.
The Covid patients were more likely to develop cognitive problems, sleep disorders, depression, stress, and anxiety, compared to those who didn't.
Patients with no history of mental health diagnoses in the past two years were the focus of the study. It compared those hospitalized for Covid with other illnesses. The study adjusted for other factors.
It was clear that Covid has an effect on mental health.
Those who need to be hospitalized are more likely to be at higher risk. Mild cases were more likely to get mental health diagnoses.
The risk in non-hospitalized patients is significant and not trivial, and that represents the majority of people in the US and the world.
Most of the people analyzed were older white men. There were no changes in risk for race, gender and age.
The coronaviruses can be seen in the brain in the amygdala and the hippocampus.
Jackson said that the study adds to other research showing that mental health issues are a huge concern. The results line up with what he sees.
Jackson said that Covid may be even more problematic than they thought.
The experts said that early treatment of patients facing new or additional mental health challenges after Covid can make a crucial difference.
The idea is to identify patients early so that we can reduce the problem down the road.
The longer the virus continues to circulate, the more long-term problems it may create.
The wave of people with mental health disorders is going to be hitting the clinics in the next year or two or three, as a result of Covid and as a result of the Pandemic.
Many mental health practitioners don't accept insurance, making it difficult for patients to get help.
Jackson said that the problem was a huge one and that he wasn't sure what to do about it.
Jackson has set up peer support groups to offer counseling to patients dealing with long Covid. Patients from all over the country can join the groups.
We need to pay attention to the long-term consequences of Covid.
The US is going to be unprepared again for long Covid, according to Al-Aly.
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