One in three people, who fought the COVID-19 disease, suffer from a neurological or psychiatric diagnosis six months on, revealed a study, which is the largest on the effect of coronavirus on mental health, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

COVID-19 patients are more likely to develop brain conditions compared to those who suffer from other respiratory tract infections, wrote authors in the study that involved health records of more than 230,000 COVID-19 survivors. The researchers found that 7,820 (34%) patients developed a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months.

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The most common conditions diagnosed were anxiety in 17% of patients and mood disorders in 14% of them. 

The study stated that 13% of patients were diagnosed with the disorders of mental health issues for the first time. 

The risk of brain disorders was generally higher in patients, who has severe COVID-19. Meanwhile, the incidences of neurological disorders such as brain haemorrhage (0.6%), stroke (2.1%) and dementia (0.7%) were lower overall than for psychiatric disorders.

Researchers also compared this data to that 236,000 patients of any respiratory tract infection and 100,000 patients of influenza. COVID-19 survivors had a 16% more risk of neurological and mental health diagnoses than people with any respiratory tract infection and 44% more risk than anyone with flu. 

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While the individual risk of developing neurological and psychiatric orders was small, the overall effect globally could be “substantial”, Paul Harrison, lead author from the University of Oxford, said.

The analysis says that the patients, who were hospitalised with severe COVID-19 disease, were at a greater risk of developing long-term conditions as 46% of patients who were in ICU were diagnosed with the conditions within six months of recovery. 

The study also shows that the 2.7% of patients, who had required intensive care, suffered a subsequent brain haemorrhage, compared to 0.3% of people who weren’t hospitalised.

And nearly 7% of those needing ICU care suffered a stroke, compared with 1.3% of patients who didn’t.

Writing in a linked comment article, Jonathan Rogers from University College London, said further research was needed on the long-term neurological and psychiatric outcomes among Covid-19 patients.

“Sadly, many of the disorders identified in this study tend to be chronic or recurrent, so we can anticipate that the impact of Covid-19 could be with us for many years,” said Rogers, who was not involved in the study.

“It is clear from this study that the impact COVID-19 is having on individuals mental health can be severe,” said Lea Milligan, CEO of the MQ Mental Health research group.

“This is contributing to the already rising levels of mental illness and requires further, urgent research.”