One study is billed as the first to analyze the long-term effects of COVID-19 Mental health was published on Monday (14) in the scientific journal “The Lancet”. In general, researchers caution that the longer a person stops routine activities due to illness, the greater the chances of it affecting mental health.
The researchers’ focus was on people who were not properly hospitalized. After analyzing data from patients from six countries, the scientists concluded that those who remained bedridden for seven days or more were more likely to have depression, distress, anxiety and sleep disturbances.
In this case, for the majority, the condition lasted for up to 16 months, which covered the entire study period.
Overall, the researchers noted, depression and anxiety symptoms mostly regressed two months after infection in patients who were not bedridden. However, people who needed to stay away from daily activities for a longer period were hardest hit.
In all, 247,000 people were analyzed in Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, of whom 4% were diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 2020 and August 2021.
“Over 16 months, patients who remained bedridden for seven days or more were 50-60% more likely to develop depression and anxiety compared to people who did not become infected during the study period.”
Our research is among the first to look for mental health symptoms after severe Covid-19 in the general population for up to 16 months after diagnosis. This suggests that the effects are not the same for everyone and that spending time in bed is a key factor in determining how severe the effects are on mental health.”
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