One-Fifth of COVID-19 Patients Get a Psychiatric Diagnosis Within 90 Days, Study Suggests

A study published in Lancet Psychiatry suggests that people who have had COVID-19 may be at higher risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety or depression, reports CNN . Researchers analyzed the medical records of 69 million people in the United States between Jan. 20 and Aug. 1, including 62,000 who contracted the coronavirus. In the three months following positive diagnosis, nearly one in five survivors received a psychiatric diagnosis — about twice as likely as for other groups of patients with different ailments and conditions. "The study reports that patients have a somewhat higher risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, mainly anxiety or depression, after a COVID-19 diagnosis than after certain other medical events," explained University College London and Queen Mary University Professor David Curtis. "For example, they show that there is an 18 percent chance of getting a psychiatric diagnosis after COVID-19 compared with 13 percent after influenza." University of Oxford Professor Paul Harrison said the connection between COVID-19 and psychiatric diagnosis could be explained by multiple factors, including a direct neurological or biological effect of the virus, the medications used to treat it, the anxiety caused by contracting the virus, and wider concerns about the pandemic. Having a psychiatric disorder in the previous year also was associated with a greater risk of contracting the virus, which could be underpinned by possible socioeconomic factors.