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The study surveyed 402 COVID-19 survivors. Over half of them experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, insomnia, or depression due to the severe inflammation provoked by the virus.
Milan's San Raffaele Hospital's researchers in Italy said Monday that COVID-19 recovered patients are more likely to suffer psychiatric disorders.
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The study surveyed 402 COVID-19 survivors. Over half of them experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, insomnia, or depression due to the severe inflammation provoked by the virus.
The research analyzed 265 men and 137 women during the first month of their recovery. After clinical interviews and questionnaires, the experts concluded 28 % of them suffered PTSD, over 30 percent were depressed, 42% of them experienced anxiety, and 40% were insomniac. About a fifth of them showed obsessive-compulsive behavior.
"It was immediately clear that the inflammation caused by the disease could also have repercussions at the psychiatric level," said the leader of San Raffaele's psychiatry and clinical psychobiology unit's researcher group, professor Francesco Benedetti.
Nearly 1 in 5 children aged 10-17 in the UK – the equivalent of 1.1m – have reported being unhappy with their lives as a whole during the coronavirus lockdown.
— Children's Society (@childrensociety) July 30, 2020
Before Covid-19 this was usually around 1 in 8.
Read our report: https://t.co/YreB7WiHSN pic.twitter.com/KwoCkRNB1l
According to the investigation outcomes, women are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, regardless of the infection severity.
"We hypothesize that this may be due to the different functioning of the immune system," Benedetti added.
The researchers also concluded that COVID-19 psychiatric sequels are linked not only to the virus but also to stigma, social isolation, and disease-related stress.
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