Experts red-flag need for Covid-19 mental health research

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN
April 15, 2020

London (CNN)Mental health and brain research must be a higher priority in the response to the coronavirus pandemic, scientists have said, warning that the crisis could have a “profound” and “pervasive impact” on global mental health now and in the future. 

In a paper published Wednesday in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, researchers called for better monitoring of mental health as part of the global response to the pandemic. The outbreak has infected more than 2 million people and killed over 128,000 worldwide, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The paper, which draws on the work of 24 mental health experts, including neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists and public health experts, also noted that little is known about the impact of Covid-19 itself on the human nervous system.

Other coronaviruses, the paper said, have passed into the central nervous system. Experts warn that more research — as well as a database to monitor the psychological or brain effects of Covid-19 — is urgently needed to understand the potential impacts of Covid-19 on the human brain and nervous system.
Researchers noted that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) — the virus that causes Covid-19 — may infect the brain or trigger immune responses that are detrimental to brain function and mental health in patients.
The paper — which cited a poll of more than 2,000 people with lived experience of mental health problems, their supporters, healthcare professionals, researchers and the general public with an interest in the topic, and a survey of more than 1,000 of the UK’s general population — found that the public were already concerned about coronavirus and mental health, and were worried about the effect of social isolation or social distancing on well-being, including increased anxiety, stress and depression.

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