Patients who were bedridden for seven days or longer were at increased risk of depression and anxiety over the study period
New research, published in The Lancet Public Health journal, indicates that severe COVID-19 disease is linked to an increase in the risk of long-term adverse mental health effects.
The findings of the study indicate that non-hospitalised patients with a SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to experience depressive symptoms up to 16 months after diagnosis, compared to those who were not previously infected.
Patients who were bedridden for seven days or more had higher rates of depression or anxiety, compared to people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 but not bedridden.
The researchers looked at symptom-prevalence of depression, anxiety, COVID-19 related distress and poor sleep quality among people with and without a diagnosis of COVID-19 from 0 to 16 months.
They analysed data from seven cohorts across Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Participants diagnosed with COVID-19 had a higher prevalence of depression, and poorer sleep quality, compared to individuals who were never diagnosed.
Symptoms of depression and anxiety mostly dissipated within two months for non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19. Patients who were bedridden for seven days or longer, however, were at increased risk of depression and anxiety over the 16-month study period.
Restrictions such as social distancing and the general uncertainty of the pandemic took a toll on much of the population.
While there are plenty of studies to date that have examined adverse mental health impacts for up to six months after a COVID-19 diagnosis, there is far less documentation about the long-term mental health impacts beyond that period.
Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir, co-author, University of Iceland, explained: “The higher occurrence of depression and anxiety among patients with COVID-19, who spent seven days or longer bedridden, could be due to a combination of worrying about long-term health effects as well as the persistence of physical long COVID symptoms.”
“Equally, inflammatory responses among patients with a severe diagnosis may contribute to more persistent mental health symptoms. In contrast, the fact that individuals with a mild COVID-19 infection can return to normal lives sooner and only experience a benign infection likely contributes to the lower risk of negative mental health effects we observed,” he added.
