One in five people who survive COVID-19 will be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within 90 days, according to a study examining the pandemic.
The most common conditions that recovered patients are diagnosed with include anxiety, depression and insomnia, although the researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia.
“People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings show this to be likely,” said Professor Paul Harrison, a psychiatrist at the University of Oxford.
The mechanism which causes the increased risk of mental illness is not yet known and deserves urgent investigation, Professor Harrison said.
“Health services need to be ready to provide care, especially since our results are likely to be underestimates [of the number of patients in psychiatric care],” he added.