London: Increased risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as dementia and seizures is still higher two years after COVID-19 compared to other respiratory infections, suggests an observational study of over 1.25 million patient health records published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The increased risk of depression and anxiety in adults lasts less than two months before returning to rates comparable to those after other respiratory infections. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there has been growing evidence that survivors might be at increased risk of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
A previous observational study by the same research group reported that COVID-19 survivors are at increased risk of several neurological and mental health conditions in the first six months after infection. However, until now, there have been no large-scale data examining the risks of these diagnoses over a longer time period. “In addition to confirming previous findings that COVID-19 can increase the risk for some neurological and psychiatric conditions in the first six months after infection, this study suggests that some of these increased risks can last for at least two years,” said Professor Paul Harrison, from the University of Oxford, UK.
