Between February 2020 and December 2020, researchers evaluated electronic records of 226,521 patients from across England and found that COVID-19 was associated with an elevated risk of illnesses such as mental illness, fatigue, and sleep problems.
As an independent symptom of sleep disturbance, fatigue has received little research since it is so often confused with sleepiness. At a sleep disorder center, 206 patients completed the Fatigue Severity Scale over 12 months to determine whether fatigue was a common and severe symptom in sleep-deprived individuals.
COVID Testing Is Linked To Fatigue And Sleeping Problems
On our 7-point FSS, the average score was 4.8, which would be considered severe fatigue. People with psychophysiological insomnia were more likely to report high levels of fatigue than those with a variety of other sleep disorders.
Unexpectedly, fatigue was not predicted by daytime sleepiness, but other variables were. It appears that perceived fatigue and daytime sleepiness do not follow the same pattern.
In the January issue of the JAMA Network Open, researchers at the Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR GM PSTRC) present their findings. It was in 2007 that the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester founded The Center.
The study found that people who hadn’t previously visited their physician for any of these reasons were almost six times more likely to report fatigue and three times more likely to experience sleep problems after a positive PCR test than those who didn’t report fatigue or sleep problems.
The incidence of mental illness rose by 83% following PCR results. The risk of developing mental illness was 71% higher for those who received a negative PCR test.
This raises some questions about whether COVID-19 has an underlying effect on mental illness, as it is clear that those who are screened have a higher rate of mental illness risk factors, like anxiety associated with pandemics.
The researcher who led the study, Dr. Matthias Pierce, said, “We sought evidence in primary health care records suggesting a link between COVID-19 and mental health problems and sleep and fatigue problems.
The risk of experiencing sleep problems is very high as well since fatigue is a consequence of COVID-19. It is, however, debatable whether COVID-19 causes people to become mentally ill, or if people with certain predispositions to mental illness are more likely to be tested.”
Professor Roger Webb of The Manchester University, who co-directs the NIHR GM PSTRC’s Behavioral Health clinical study, stated, “Our results are similar to that of other studies that have found increased risks of mental disorder, consciousness, tiredness, and interrupted sleeping habits among folks who failed a test for an infectious disease during the disease outbreak.
The next significant research question for this study in our field will be to identify the processes that have resulted in these results.”
Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, a founder of the article and University lecturer of Primary Care Studies at Keele Higher Education institution, as well as a Public Practitioner, stated, “Primary care physicians must understand the long-term effect of COVID-19 infectious disease on their population of patients.
Following up with other people who tested positive for COVID-19 infectious disease may help us identify lingering side effects and direct them to the Your COVID Healing webpage.
The higher risk of psychosocial problems in folks who tested negative could be attributed to panic disorder in these patient populations, and general practitioners can potentially clarify and assist such clients.”
