Neurological and Psychiatric Morbidity Occurs after COVID Infection

As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to progress, studying the long-term effects of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been an important area of study. On August 17, 2022, Lancet Psychiatry published an article highlighting the neurological and psychological morbidities following COVID-19 infection.

Long COVID and COVID sequelae have been studied intently in recent years. Previous studies, such as one from the University of Cambridge, have found that 70% of patients had memory problems and difficulty concentrating months following COVID infection.

In addition to understanding the outcomes, many researchers are also attempting to assess the risk for patients to develop proper treatment regimens.

“In this analysis of retrospective cohort studies, in addition to supporting previous findings of an increased risk of a range of neurological and psychiatric diagnoses in the first six months after COVID-19 diagnosis, we found substantial differences in the trajectories of these risks within the first two years after diagnosis,” stated researchers in the publication.

In this study, 1,487,712 patients were analyzed over two years using data from the TriNetX electronic health records network. Patient data from January 20, 2020, to April 13, 2022, was observed to analyze neurological and psychiatric disease development risk.

The researchers determined that mood and anxiety disorders after COVID infection were temporary and likely to resolve within two years after infection. Additionally, compared to other respiratory diseases, the rates of these disorders in COVID-19 patients were not significantly higher.

Conversely, the risk of psychotic disorder, cognitive deficit, dementia, and epilepsy or seizures were not transient and remained for an extended time after infection.

In addition, this study identified that the risks varied between age groups. They found four key differences between pediatric patients and adult patients.

First, they determined that children had no increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders, unlike adults. On the other hand, pediatric patients had an increased risk of encephalitis, nerve, nerve root, and plexus disorder. Finally, pediatric patients had overall lower hazard ratios.

“These findings are relevant for policymakers involved in anticipating and addressing the health burden of the pandemic, for researchers seeking to identify the mechanisms underpinning brain sequelae of COVID-19, and for patients and clinicians wishing to know the neurological and psychiatric risks following SARS-CoV-2 infections,” concluded the investigators in the study.