Barcelona: Mental health issues caused by the global Covid-19 crisis will be the next pandemic, according to a study published by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
People’s mental health has been under attack simultaneously by multiple mechanisms and urgent action is needed, the Xinhua News Agency said citing the study’s authors during its presentation on Monday.
The global economic costs associated with mental health problems have reached one trillion US dollars per year and 85% of people with mental disorders could not receive treatment in poor and middle-income countries, causing an “unprecedented global crisis. », They declared.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has affected people’s health, but also their personal goals, their family dynamics, their role at work and their economic stability,” they explained.
Other factors that have exacerbated this crisis include changing family roles, domestic violence, isolation, loneliness, grief over the loss of family or friends, generalized anxiety, burnout and post-traumatic stress.
The study also reported that between 30 and 60 percent of patients with Covid-19 have their central and peripheral nervous system affected, resulting in various problems.
Delirium is the most common and acute neuropsychiatric syndrome in patients with Covid-19, followed by depression and anxiety, while depression and fatigue are longer lasting conditions.
ISGlobal called for social protection strategies to tackle issues related to unemployment, unexpected loss of loved ones, loneliness and isolation, with guaranteed provision of basic services and funding of social services to help families in need.
(IANS)