Mental health disorders can put you at greater risk of infection breakthrough of Covid-19, i.e. those infections that occur in those who have already been vaccinated or have already had the disease in the past. Coordinated research supports this
from the University of San Francisco and published on Jama Network Open.
The study, conducted on 263,697 people with an average age of 66, showed that the risk of infection among people under 65 with substance abuse, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder and anxiety was up to 11% highest than in people without mental health problems. The risk rose to +24% among people over 65 years of age.
For researchers, the greater risk of infections among people with psychiatric disorders cannot be entirely explained by socio-demographic factors or pre-existing conditions. “It is possible that immunity after vaccination wanes more rapidly for people with psychiatric disorders or they may have less protection against new variants,” he says Aoife O'Donovan, one of the authors of the study.
The researchers also highlight how the risk of infections was lower for young people with mental disorders than for the elderly, despite the fact that many more cases are recorded among young people. For O'Donovan this phenomenon can be explained by a possible lower socialization among young people with psychotic disorders compared to older people who "could have more contacts given their worse general health conditions, which require a greater presence of caregiver or more contact with healthcare personnel".
In particular, among those over 65 the risk was 24% higher for those with substance abuse problems, 23% higher for those with psychotic disorders, the highest 16% for those suffering from bipolar disorder, the 14% for adjustment disorder and the 12% for anxiety. Among the youngest, the increased risk associated with substance abuse was 11%, that for adjustment disorder was 9%, for anxiety was 4% and for post-traumatic stress disorder was 3%.
COVID, MOOD DISORDERS AND SUICIDE
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