Welcome to Atheist Discussion, a new community created by former members of The Thinking Atheist forum.

Thread Rating:
  • 2 Vote(s) - 4.5 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)

Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread)
Why people with mental illness are at higher risk of COVID

Quote:The risk of death from COVID-19 went up by 50% for those with a history of mental illness compared to those with no such history, says Li, who is now the Chief Medical Officer at the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD in Texas.

Another study published last year looked at a nationwide database of electronic health records with information on people who'd tested positive for COVID-19 and those who were hospitalized.

If an individual had a history of a mental disorder, they were more likely to get infected," says study author Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "And if they got infected, then they were more likely to have negative outcomes, such as hospitalization and death."

There are several things going on that explain this, she says.

For one, mental illnesses change people's behaviors which can make them less likely to protect themselves from an infection, with measures like social distancing or wearing masks.

Second, people with mental illness tend to have poorer overall health and many chronic health problems, like diabetes, cardiovascular problems, kidney disease.

"It is this very high prevalence of comorbid medical conditions that's likely to actually be putting them at greater risk for negative outcomes [from COVID-19]," says Volkow.

It's well known that people with mental illness on average live shorter lives and die of health conditions other than their psychiatric diagnosis.

"They suffer prematurely from chronic illnesses, medical neglect," says Dr. Ashwin Vasan is the president and CEO of Fountain House, a mental health non-profit.

They are also among the most isolated in society, he says, and that isolation takes an immense toll on their bodies putting them at a higher risk of chronic illnesses.

"There have been study after study showing that it leads to inflammation, immunologic stress, neurodegenerative decline, immunologic impairment, endocrinological impairment," says Vasan. It's equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, he notes.

And many medications used to treat mental illnesses, particularly antipsychotics also increase risk of these chronic health problems, says Volkow.

"This has been one of the main challenges that we have with the use of antipsychotics overall, which help control certain symptoms in schizophrenia but are negatively associated with a much higher risk of diabetes and hypertension and metabolic diseases," she says.



There's also a clear overlap between serious mental illness and homelessness and substance abuse, which are also linked to high risk of infection and severe COVID-19.

"About 40% of our chronically homeless population has serious mental illness and addiction," says Vasan.

Most of the 13 million people with serious mental illness in the US are on Medicaid, he says, but 40% have no access to care at all.

"This is a systematically marginalized, sicker population that has less access to care and supports," he says.
Mountain-high though the difficulties appear, terrible and gloomy though all things seem, they are but Mâyâ.
Fear not — it is banished. Crush it, and it vanishes. Stamp upon it, and it dies.


Vivekananda
The following 3 users Like Dānu's post:
  • Dom, Alan V, c172
Reply


Messages In This Thread
Don't panic! Be creative!!! - by Chas - 03-25-2020, 06:04 AM
RE: Don't panic! Be creative!!! - by Aroura - 03-25-2020, 06:46 AM
£37 billion for Test & Trace. - by Inkubus - 03-10-2021, 04:05 PM
RE: Coronavirus spreads. But don't panic! (topical thread) - by Dānu - 11-22-2021, 01:49 PM
New conspiracy - by Filox - 03-20-2020, 07:14 AM
RE: New conspiracy - by Gawdzilla Sama - 03-20-2020, 09:27 AM



Users browsing this thread: 43 Guest(s)