The psychiatrists said that many COVID-19 survivors are likely to be at greater risk of developing mental illness.
After a large study, it found that 20 percent of people infected with the coronavirus is diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder within 90 days.
Anxiety, depression, and insomnia were most common among recovered COVID-19 patients in the study who developed mental health problems, and the researchers also found significantly higher risks of dementia, a brain impairment condition.
Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry at Britain’s Oxford University said that doctors and scientists around the world urgently need to investigate the causes and identify new treatments for mental illness after COVID-19.
“Health services need to be ready to provide care, especially since our results are likely to be underestimated (of the number of psychiatric patients),” Harrison added.
The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental illness were 65 percent more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without.
