People Who Contract COVID-19 at Higher Risk of Mental Health Problems: Study
From The Epoch Times By February 19, 2022
Natalie’s Commentary: SARS-CoV-2 also known as COVID-19 has deeply affected and hurt most of the population worldwide.
Covid-19 has deeply emotionally and physically hurt many people. It’s no wonder that the COVID-19 spike protein would also affect the chemistry and tissue in the brain predisposing people to becoming more depressed. Many are injured permanently suffering from the following illnesses.
- Guillain Barr Syndrome – a rare auto immune disease in which a person’s own immune system damages their nerves.
- Thrombocytopenia – a low blood platelet count and your blood will not clot properly which could lead to dangerous internal bleeding.
- Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia syndrome called TTS headaches, abdominal and back pain, nausea, vomiting, vision changes, shortness of breath and leg pain and you can die.
- Anaphylaxis a severe potentially life threatening allergic reaction.
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack).
- Myocarditis inflation of the heart muscles.
- Pericarditis inflation of the outer lining of the heart.
- Embolism is a blocked artery blocked by a foreign body ( blood clot, air bubble).
- DVT Deep Vein Thrombosis blood clots formed in deep veins.
- Vasculitis inflammation of blood vessels.
- Hemorrhage bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel.
- Acute kidney injury, acute liver injury.
- Aseptic meningitis serious inflation of the linings of the brain.
- Encephalitis inflation of the actual tissues of the brain. Stroke.
- Bell’s Palsy facial paralysis.
- Myelitis/myelitis transverse inflammation of the spinal cord.
- Erythema multiform skin reaction triggered by an infection.
- Arthritis.
- Herpes Zoster
- Abortion (spontaneous abortion/miscarriage)
- Cancer
Now people who get COVID-19 are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, according to a newly published study.
Researchers found that people with COVID-19 who did not die were at a 60 percent higher risk of any mental health diagnosis or prescription, with problems including sleep disorders, depression, and neurocognitive decline.
People with COVID-19, for instance, were 36 percent more likely to be prescribed opioids when compared to a control group. People with COVID-19 were also 24 percent more likely to suffer from sleep disorders.
“The risks were evident even among people who did not need hospitalization during the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection,” Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, director of the Clinical Epidemiology Center at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Saint Louis Health Care System, and one of the researchers, wrote on Twitter.
SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19. It is also known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Researchers reached the findings by analyzing data from VA health care databases.
They arranged three cohorts. One group was comprised of patients who sought care from the agency’s health system between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2021, tested positive for COVID-19, and survived at least 30 days from the positive test. The patients were followed through Nov. 30, 2021.
Another group consisted of patients who used the same system but did not test positive for COVID-19. Patients were followed for similar periods of time as the infected cohort.
A third group was assembled to provide a historical control cohort. They sought care from the system before the pandemic.
Comparisons of the infected group with the contemporary control group and the historical control cohort resulted in similar numbers.
Patients with COVID-19 most at-risk of experiencing mental health problems were those hospitalized during the initial, or acute, phase of the disease. But researchers found even people with COVID-19 who weren’t admitted to hospitals were more likely to suffer from mental health issues.
“Our findings show an increased risk of mental health disorders in people with COVID-19. Evidence also suggests that people with mental health disorders are at increased risk of becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2 and having serious outcomes. This likely suggests the putative existence of a bidirectional connection in that mental health disorders might predispose someone to COVID-19 and that COVID-19 itself might lead to adverse mental health manifestations. A better understanding of the interaction of mental health disorders both as risk for and sequela of COVID-19 is needed,” the researchers wrote.
The results of the observational study were published in the British Journal of Medicine.
Limitations of the study included the demographic composition of the cohorts being mostly older white men, which might limit the application to the general public.
The research was funded by the VA and an award from the American Society of Nephrology.
