Psychological and Neuropsychiatric Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
Mustafa Elsaied Esmail *
Department of Psychiatry, Eradah Al Amal Mental Health Complex, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohamad Abdulrahman Alhazouri
Dr. Zaher Qadeeb Alban G.M Poly Clinics, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Nourah Abdulaziz Al Modahka
College of Medicine, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
Haidar Nasser Alhassan
College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Arwa Abdullah Zabran
Department of Psychiatry, Eradah Mental Health Complex, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Ali Jafar Almutawah
College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Bandar Badar Almutairi
College of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Ali Shaker AlQadhib
College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia.
Hamad Abdulaziz Alshuaib
College of Medicine, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
Safaa Khalid Dhafar
College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Amr Jumah Alalwani
Department of Emergency Medicine, Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Viruses are abundant, and several have been found to infect the CNS, resulting in neuropsychiatric disorders affecting the cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and perceptual domains. As the pandemic of the disease now known as COVID-19 has progressed, the psychological ramifications of the sickness have become more widely recognized. The present COVID-19 pandemic could have psychological effects for numerous causes. Certain situations, such as pervasive anxiety, social isolation, stress in health-care employees and other social workers, unemployment, and financial troubles, may make both infected and non-infected people vulnerable. Furthermore, psychological distress was found to be adversely linked with suggested health behaviours to reduce infection risk and favourably associated with non-recommended behaviours in quarantine conditions. The purpose of this research is to review the available information about the psychological and neuropsychiatric long-term effects of COVID-19. According to the existing literature, the COVID-19 pandemic has a significant negative influence on mental health, particularly in older persons with and without dementia. Viral infection, as well as the social isolation that follows in order to prevent it from spreading, has a variety of neuropsychiatric repercussions. To clarify such impacts and assess the long-term ramifications for the mental health of older persons, as well as explore alternative mitigating techniques, larger and more robustly designed research studies are needed.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, viral infection, psychological, neuropsychiatric, long-term effects