The high mental health burden of "Long COVID" and its association with on-going physical and respiratory symptoms in all adults discharged from hospital

During previous severe coronavirus outbreaks, 15% of survivors suffered from depression and 33% from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a mean follow-up of 22.6 and 32.2 months, respectively [1]. A recent systematic review identified that whilst physical symptoms receive most attention, the effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) upon mental health may be equally important [2]. One meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of depression and PTSD in the general public during this pandemic at 24% and 15%, respectively [3]. In adults with pre-existing asthma and COPD, the prevalence of depression and PTSD was 31.5% and 11.3%, respectively [4]. For patients with acute COVID-19 infection, this increased to 42% for depression and 96% for symptoms consistent with PTSD [3].

Source: European Respiratory Journal - June 24, 2021 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Naidu, S. B., Shah, A. J., Saigal, A., Smith, C., Brill, S. E., Goldring, J., Hurst, J. R., Jarvis, H., Lipman, M., Mandal, S. Tags: Original Articles: Research letters Source Type: research