Doctors Seeing Long-Term Effects In 1 In 3 COVID-19 Survivors, Study Shows

A new study showed people who had COVID-19 are at a greater risk of developing a range of psychological and neurological conditions.

The large study was done by Oxford researchers and notes these conditions can pop up quickly.

The study found that one in three COVID-19 patients in the U.S. developed brain or psychiatric disorders within six months of infection. Doctors in the Oklahoma City metro are warning these effects could put another strain on the health care system.

“It can be seen in both type of cases – the severe and mild ones,” said Dr. Salman Zubair, with SSM Health neurosciences.

The study done was comprised of over 200,000 COVID-19 survivors from hospitals, primary care doctors and specialty providers across the U.S.

It found weeks after an infection, patients would have side effects pop up, both acute and chronic. Zubair said theses type of effects aren’t excluded from survivors in Oklahoma.

“In an acute setting, it can cause where the blood can become sticky and then lead to stroke so we have seen those patients in the ICU,” said Zubair.

Chronically, they have seen patients come in with things brain fog and extreme weakness.

“They are complaining of extreme fatigue; their muscles are hurting, (and) they have trouble walking,” Zubair said.

But effects on survivors of the virus are not limited to physical problems. Doctors have now seen more people come in suffering from chemical imbalances in the brain due to the virus causing depression, anxiety and in some cases bipolar disorders.

“People are going through a lot and it will have a big toll on our medical system, in the near future and in the long term and we need to prepare ourselves,” Zubair said.