Mental Stress Increases Risk of Post-COVID Symptoms, tiredness| Finds Study

People suffering from mental depression increase the risk of long-term COVID finds a recent study published in an online journal Jama Psychiatry¹. This recent study once again points out that mental health is very crucial for overall human health. These mental symptoms include depression, anxiety, worry, perceived stress, and loneliness. In one of the other recent COVID related study scientist have found that regular exercise improves immunity to fight COVID-19 infection.

We already know the health hazards of mental stress and depression, in this article, we will try to understand what made researchers to conclude that mental health can influence long-term COVID.

Researchers recruited mentally depressed person for study

Scientist at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health was curious whether there is any link between mental symptoms like depression, anxiety, worry, perceived stress, and loneliness to the increased risk of getting long-COVID or post-COVID-19 situation. If you are not aware, long-COVID is the health problem people experience after they are infected with the COVID-19 virus. The symptoms of long-COVID include easily getting tired with household work, body ache with fever, difficulty in breathing, headache, dizziness, difficulty in focusing on work including musculoskeletal symptoms such as joint and muscle pain. For full detail on symptoms please visit this link from CDC.

For the study, the researchers choose to recruit a large number of female persons. They recruited 54 960 participants among which 38% were healthcare workers all of them having one or more symptoms of mental depression, anxiety, worry, perceived Stress, and loneliness. They hand these mental symptoms with no current or prior report of COVID-19 infection. They collected data from the period between April 2020 and November 2021, the year 2021 we all may remember as one of the worst second waves of COVID.

The participants were carefully selected who had mental symptoms but were not infected and at the end of November 2021 when the study was finished, the result was worrying.

Result: Mental depression increases risk of long-COVID

Mental health like stress and depression does have a negative effect on immunity and other physical health but this study made it clear that COVID-19 can increasingly affect a person with mental health symptoms. The study found that all participants who had 2 or more types of symptoms prior to infection were at nearly 50% increased risk for post–COVID-19 conditions.

Another study finds that those who had no mental health symptoms prior to infection but survived the COVID-19 pandemic suffered mental depression and anxiety.

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