One in three Covid survivors suffer brain or mental disorder, major study shows

"Brain diseases and psychiatric disorders are more common after Covid-19 than after flu," researcher finds

Around one in three people who have had coronavirus have been diagnosed with a brain or mental disorder within six months of being infected with the virus, according to a large study. The Oxford Study found that coronavirus was 44 per cent more likely to cause brain and mental problems than influenza, the Financial Times reported. Whilst conducting the study, Oxford scientists compared the health records of over 236,000 coronavirus patients and around 105,000 people who were had flu during the period of January through to December 2020. The large study was published by The Lancet Psychiatry last night. Referring to their findings, the Lancet Psychiatry report said: "Our study provides evidence for substantial neurological and psychiatric morbidity in the 6 months after COVID-19 infection. "Risks were greatest in, but not limited to, patients who had severe COVID-19." The study found that "survivors are indeed at increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders in the 3 months after infection." The most common mental health diagnoses after being infected with coronavirus were anxiety, with 17 per cent of patients suffering from the mental disorder, and mood disorders, with around 14 per cent of patients experiencing this mental disorder. The findings for Covid-19 were approximately 45 per cent higher than those who experienced the disorders with influenza, the study showed. Max Taquet, a co-author of the large study, said: "Our results indicate that brain diseases and psychiatric disorders are more common after Covid-19 than after flu or other respiratory infections, even when patients are matched for other risk factors." "We now need to see what happens beyond six months," the researcher added.