One in three survivors of COVID-19 suffers from a neurological or mental disorder within six months of infection, according to a Study conducted by Oxford University especially on American patients.
Of the patients treated in intensive care, 7% suffered a stroke and almost 2% were diagnosed with dementia. The researchers also found that 17% of patients developed anxiety and 14% had mood disorders.
“The people at highest risk are the ones who were the sickest, the hospitalized patients who were in the ICU. These are the ones who are most at risk for more serious conditions,” psychiatrist Dr. Sue Varma told CBS This Morning. “Thursday.” The scariest part is people who have had neither COVID symptoms nor very mild Covid symptoms who have solved or experienced previous psychiatric illnesses, and they are at risk for anxiety and depression. “
The study found that people who report these neurological and mental health disorders have not experienced them before.
“This is so scary, especially when you hear voices or voices telling you to hurt or harm other people or that other people are willing to catch you,” Varma said.
Varma, who is not affiliated with the study, noted that it can sometimes be difficult to separate the impact of the virus from the impact of the economic and other effects of the pandemic.
And, although similar symptoms may occur after other viral infections, the study found that people who had COVID-19 were twice as likely to have them compared to those with the flu.
“Never underestimate and minimize your mental health problems, because they can be related to the inflammation that COVID has caused in the body,” said Varma.
The sudden change in mental health surprised many COVID-19 patients, including 50-year-old adventure photographer Ivan Agerton of Seattle. He compared the change to a light switch after recovering from the infection.
“I felt this intense paranoia hit me,” Agerton told IS Lee of CBS News. “I couldn’t get rid of him – every person I saw would trigger this intense fear.”
When the former sailor first landed with COVID, he feared the health of his wife and three young children. After thinking he had recovered, he began to feel what he recognized as a mental illness.
“I could hear voices outside my window. I thought I heard people in the bushes,” he recalled. “It was absolutely the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
However, there was a turning point – after receiving the vaccination two weeks earlier, Agerton said he “started to feel very well”.
And while his new disorders are “under control,” Agerton still worries about how long they will torment him.