A new observational follow-up study in six European countries published in The Lancet Public Health links severe COVID-19 to long-term depression and anxiety.University of Iceland at Reykjavik researchers led the study, which analyzed symptoms of depression, anxiety, COVID-related stress, and poor sleep quality among 247,249 adults, 4% of whom were diagnosed as having COVID-19 from Mar 27, 2020, to Aug 13, 2021.Participants, who were followed up for as long as 16 months (average, 5.7), lived in Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, or the United Kingdom.
Most severely ill COVID-19 patients recuperated at home, but some spent time in a hospital.Relative to uninfected participants, COVID-19 survivors had a higher prevalence of symptoms of depression (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.18, or 18% higher) and poor sleep quality (1.13) but not anxiety (0.97) or COVID-related distress (1.05).The prevalence of depression and COVID-related distress lessened over time, but COVID-19 survivors who weren't bedridden during their illness were at consistently lower risk of depression (PR, 0.83) and anxiety (0.77) than their uninfected peers.
COVID-19 survivors bedridden for more than 7 days (22.3% of infected patients), however, were at persistently higher risk for depression (PR, 1.61) and anxiety (1.43) than uninfected participants throughout the study period."Severe acute COVID-19 illness—indicated by extended time bedridden—is associated with long-term mental morbidity among recovering individuals in the general population," the researchers wrote. "These findings call for increased vigilance of adverse mental health development among patients with a severe acute disease phase of COVID-19."Time spent bedridden key factorMany