COVID-19 Causes Mental Disorders

High prevalence of mental disorders is seen among the populations affected by coronavirus pandemics, as per a meta-analysis in the United States, published in the journal medRxiv*. The team explored various electronic databases between April 15 until June 1 2020 and identified 60 published articles covering 66,190 participants to analyze the research on Covid-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Mental disorders among the COVID-19 affected group

It was observed that 1 in 5 adults suffered from pandemic-related mental disorders, most notably psychiatric morbidity (32%), depression (17%), anxiety (12%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD – 21%).

“Infected/recovered adults (30%) and healthcare providers (20%), in particular, may experience traumatic events (e.g., invasive treatments, witnessing death) that increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder,” says the research team. Adults in the community, (16%) and quarantined adults (12 %) were also vulnerable to develop the mental disorders.

Common precipitators of the mental health disorders included pandemic-related stressors, threats and traumas, including viral exposure, witnessing illness or death, restricted mobility, unemployment, and economic loss.

A 2019 epidemiologic study conducted in China found that the twelve-month (or less) prevalence of any mental disorder was 9.3%, while it was 5.0% for anxiety disorder, 3.6% for depressive disorder and 2% for PTSD. An old dated study (2004) conducted in Europe also reported that the twelve-month (or less) prevalence of anxiety disorder and major depression was 6.4% and 3.9%, respectively.

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“Future research that examines the potentially manifold pathways to individual outcomes among sub-populations most at-risk will be instrumental in intervening in a cost-effective, effective and equitable manner”, concluded the researchers.

Source-Medindia