How does Covid-19 affect brain?

Two years after the infection, people who have suffered the Covid-19 are at a higher risk of psychosis, dementia and “brain fog”. This conclusion was reached by scientists from Oxford University. The study is published in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry.

Researchers studied more than a million medical cards of people who were sick of the Covid-19. They came to the conclusion that people who have been ill with coronavirus suffer from increased risk of neurological and psychological problems. Immediately after the disease, they can be subject to depression and anxiety. Later, the risk of these conditions is reduced.

But in the case of “brain fog” (clouding of consciousness – ed.), Adults from 18 to 64, who recovered from Covid -19, suffered 16% more often than patients with other respiratory diseases. The difference is especially noticeable in people over 65 years old. In addition to blurring, they are more likely to develop psychosis and dementia.

people under the age of 18, who suffered coronavirus, two times more often suffered by epilepsy or seizures and three times more often suffered by a mental disorder compared to those who transferred respiratory diseases.

Researchers argue that even the soft version of the Omicron coronavirus carries similar long -term risks.

“We tried to identify that Covid, as a virus, makes you specifically compared to what other viruses that affect the same part of your body as a whole in a similar way can do,” said the lead author Paul Harrison. He added that the study was not intended to identify the biological mechanism with which the virus causes an increased risk of psychological and neurological disorders.

In the work, only those patients who seek medical help were studied. Researchers proved that coronavirus causes long -term damage to the body, which is called “prolonged covid”. This is a label that includes both neurological problems and fatigue and shortness of breath.

According to the Institute for Measurement of Indicators and Assessment of the Status of the US Health, 3.7% of patients with COVID-19 develop post-shaped symptoms. This was stated by Janet Diaz, the head of the WHO on this topic. Speaking at the conference on August 17, she said that the average severity of these symptoms is equivalent to those experienced by patients with severe pain in the neck, crown disease or long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury.