Depression Worsens Years After Covid Hospitalization, Study Says Patients in UK study also experienced cognitive decline Britain is grappling with rising rates of long-term sickness The study of 475 patients found that one in four either worked less or stopped working. Photographer: Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images By Ashleigh Furlong July 31, 2024 Depression and cognitive symptoms worsen in the years following hospitalization for Covid-19, according to a new study into the long-term effects of the disease. People who were admitted to hospital for a Covid-19 infection still experienced “substantial” symptoms years later, with new ones also emerging, researchers from several British universities found. Almost half the patients in the study had moderate to severe depression, with a quarter reporting severe cognitive decline. Their depression, anxiety and fatigue all increased between the six-month mark and two to three years on. The study of 475 patients found that one in four either worked less or stopped working. The main reason for this was poor health, with the reduced work most associated with cognitive deficit, said Maxime Taquet, a lecturer at the University of Oxford’s department of psychiatry and the study’s lead author. The study only looked at cognitive and psychiatric symptoms and wasn’t explicitly investigating patients who had been diagnosed with long Covid, a condition associated with physical symptoms such as shortness of breath as well as cognitive ones. An estimated two million people in England and Scotland are living with self-reported long Covid, with more than 380,000 people saying their ability to undertake day-to-day activities have been significantly limited by the condition. That’s a concern as the number of people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness is skyrocketing, costing the economy billions each year. The severity of patients’ Covid-19 illness didn’t influence the symptoms they experienced several years later. However, researchers found that what did impact their symptoms down the line was how much progress they had made in their recovery at the six-month point. While the study only looked at patients who were hospitalized, Paul Harrison, professor of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said he suspects patients who aren’t admitted because of Covid might also suffer similar effects years later.
Should have had the jab. I have empathy for those who got COVID before the vaccine was available. The greatest feat of social engineering in the history of history. >5.5 BILLION people have received a COVID vaccine.
I had Covid (not hospitalised but probably close) long before the vaccine was developed, I can attest to a bunch of pre-diabetic and depression like symptoms caused by nagging inflammation. For me Metformin was a magic bullet.
I've had 3 jabs of covid vaccine and last week had 2nd jab of shingrix which is anti shingles. The shingrix normally several hundred dollars but free when over 50yo. Ya gotta request it though through your doctor, they don't volunteer it. Wife caught shingles a few months back, oh she was miserable with discomfort which went on for months.