- Faced with the avalanche of cases in this third wave, the professionals of the health group remember that in addition to the complications derived from many pneumonias, there are very serious side effects on mental health and neurological functions.
- One in five patients is diagnosed with a psychiatric illness within three months of infection, ranging from psychosis to encephalitis
- Specialists detect high rates of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders in the follow-up of Covid patients and warn of an increase in the consumption of alcohol and anxiolytics
Health group professionals Ribera They are dedicated to the fight against the pandemic and the care of Covid patients, both in their health centers and in home care and in the residences under their charge, while they continue to work to guarantee healthcare to all non-Covid patients who they need to continue with their treatments. However, given the avalanche of cases that are being registered in this third wave throughout Spain, the professionals in the Mental Health area of the health group recall that in addition to the complications derived from many pneumonias caused by the coronavirus, there are other very serious side effects. serious that affect the mental health and neurological functions of those who have passed the Covid. In fact, as explained by the head of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the university hospitals of the Vinalopo y Torrevieja, Jesús Mesones, "20% of those infected with coronavirus are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder in the 90 days after suffering the disease."
“It is not a question of being alarmist. The reality is already alarming enough by itself, with the daily numbers of deaths from Covid that we currently have in Spain. But it is important that citizens know that after almost a year of pandemic there are studies, such as one from Oxford, which show that practically one in five people who have suffered from the disease are diagnosed, within a maximum period of three months, with some type of of a psychiatric disorder that he had not suffered before”, clarifies Mesones. Among those serious disorders, he adds, are psychosis, mood disorders and catatonia, encephalopathy, encephalitis and various neurological disorders. In addition, it has been found that another important group of patients experience high rates of anxiety, episodes of depression and post-traumatic stress disorders "which are still being evaluated, because a longer period of time is needed." “In a smaller percentage are the patients who develop or exacerbate different types of dementia or Alzheimer's,” he adds.
Doctor Mesones agrees, he is also a psychiatrist of the Torrejón University Hospital, Alberto Garrandes. "With the pandemic, consultations focused on anxiety have greatly increased" and he assures that "a greater consumption of toxins for anxiolytic purposes has been observed, especially alcohol, and a tendency to abuse anxiolytic medication." For Marta Gadea, a psychologist at this same health center, "we are saddened by the loss of loved ones but also by the multiple losses and resignations that we have experienced in recent months and the frustrated life projects", to which she adds, she explains , “worry and hopelessness about the future”. All these changes, she assures her, have generated "adjustment disorders, that is, expected reactions to situations that, in one way or another, destabilize us." And among these disorders, in addition to anxiety, she includes depressive symptoms, fears, sleeping difficulties and mood swings, which do not correspond to a person's usual behavior.
For the head of the Mental Health Service of the two health departments managed by the Ribera group in the province of Alicante, the fear generated by contagion and a worsening of symptoms are added to the effects of the major economic and social crisis that ten months of pandemic is causing in society. “Policies to help the unemployed and actions that make it possible to recover jobs are essential to reduce levels of anxiety and stress, which can have fatal consequences for many people, with and without a history of psychiatric disorders,” he warns.
In this sense, the clinical psychologist of the Mental Health Unit of the University Hospital of Torrejón, Jorge Pernia. “The most malign consequences of this virus will be seen later, when the economic and social consequences of the pandemic become apparent. So, precariousness and hopelessness could create the conditions for a 'perfect depression' to break out, like a storm”. And it is that, according to his colleague and psychologist Marta Gadea, "Covid is a very important stressor that affects the vulnerability of people and makes us fragile and makes us feel insecure."
Finally, the professionals of the Mental Health Units of all the Ribera health centers appeal to "individual responsibility, compliance with safety, hygiene and social distance regulations, to once again stop the spread of this virus".
