Nearly one in five Covid patients later diagnosed with mental illness – study

Analysis shows nearly twice as many diagnoses over three months among those testing positive

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Nearly one in five people who have had Covid-19 are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus, according to a study that suggests action is needed to mitigate the mental health toll of the pandemic.

The analysis - conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford and NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre - also found that people with a pre-existing mental health diagnosis were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 than those without, even accounting for known risk factors such as age, sex, race, and underlying physical conditions.