At least one-third or 34% of Covid-19 survivors were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months after being infected, showed a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal on Wednesday. Almost 13% of these patients had never received a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis before.
Led by Oxford University researchers, the study, which analysed the health records of more than 2,30,000 patients in the United States, stated that the SARS-CoV-2 virus causes serious disorders that affect the nervous system. The data was compared with that of 1,05,579 patients diagnosed with influenza and 2,36,038 patients diagnosed with other respiratory tract infections.
The most common diagnoses after Covid-19 were anxiety disorders, found in 17% of the patients, mood disorders in 14%, substance misuse disorders (7%) and insomnia (5%). Neurological problems were fewer. About 0.6% patients suffered a brain haemorrhage, 2.1% recorded ischaemic stroke, and 0.7%…