As nations impose travel restrictions in an effort to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections, more and more of us are radically changing our daily routines.
Working from home, being temporarily jobless, homeschooling children, and not being in direct contact with other family members, friends, or coworkers are all new realities that require some getting used to. All of us may find it challenging to adapt to these lifestyle changes, control our fear of getting sick, and worry about those near to us who may be particularly vulnerable. They might be quite difficult for people with mental problems.
Public health authorities continue to be concerned about the long-term effects of COVID-19 (long COVID) on both physical and mental health. The long-term mental health of COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalized and who have varying degrees of illness severity is still little understood. Our goal was to determine the frequency of negative mental health symptoms among COVID-19 diagnoses in the general population by the severity of the acute infection up to 16 months following diagnosis.
In a study published in the Lancet, a researcher of Indian descent found a relationship between COVID-19 symptoms and poorer mental health and reduced life satisfaction.
In the UK, researchers from King’s College London and University College London discovered an association between prior self-reported COVID-19 and increases in psychological discomfort, sadness, anxiety, and decreased life satisfaction.
The correlations with poorer mental health continued even after infection, highlighting the disease’s possibly long-lasting impacts and the need for a more thorough medical investigation.
According to senior study author and professor Praveetha Patalay of University College London, who is also an alumna of Hyderabad’s Osmania University, this study brings together many of the UK’s longitudinal studies to provide a comprehensive overview of the impacts of COVID-19 infection on the population mental health.
The research was published in The Lancet Psychiatry and is a component of the COVID-19 Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing National Core Study.
Self-reported No matter if a person had COVID-19 antibodies or not, psychological distress was always associated with the virus.
These effects of infection were similar for groups that varied in terms of gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
According to the study, COVID-19 infection may have a greater negative influence on mental health in older individuals because there is a higher link between poorer mental health and self-reported those above the age of 50 who have infection.
This may be because older persons are more likely to have COVID-19 symptoms that are more severe, to worry more about being sick, and to have a higher chance of developing alterations to their blood vessels (microvascular changes) or brains (neurological changes) after infection.
According to Dr. Ellen Thompson of King’s College London, These results imply that COVID-19 infection had long-lasting effects on certain people’s mental health during the start of this pandemic.
Public health authorities continue to be concerned about the long-term effects of COVID-19 (long COVID) on both physical and mental health. The long-term mental health of COVID-19 patients who are not hospitalized and who have varying degrees of illness severity is still little understood. Our goal was to determine the frequency of negative mental health symptoms among COVID-19 diagnoses in the general population by the severity of the acute infection up to 16 months following diagnosis.
Symptomatic COVID-19 Infection and Psychological Disorders: A Lancet Study
