Long COVID is a complex medical condition that can be hard to diagnose as it has a range of more than 200 symptoms - some of which can resemble other illnesses - from exhaustion and cognitive impairment to pain, fever and heart palpitations, according to the World Health Organization.
There is no authoritative data on the frequency of suicides among sufferers. Several scientists from organizations including the U.S.
National Institutes of Health and Britain's data-collection agency are beginning to study a potential link following evidence of increased cases of depression and suicidal thoughts among people with long COVID, as well as a growing number of known deaths. "I'm sure long COVID is associated with suicidal thoughts, with suicide attempts, with suicide plans and the risk of suicide death.
We just don't have epidemiological data," said Leo Sher, a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Health System in New York who studies mood disorders and suicidal behavior.