On Wednesday, a study published in the Lancet Psychiatry revealed that COVID-19 survivors remained at a higher risk of psychotic disorders, such as dementia, and similar conditions for at least two years after infection. Several studies have shown that anxiety and depression are the most frequent occurrences after COVID than other respiratory infections, but the risk typically subsides within two months. In contrast, cognitive deficits such as brain fog, epilepsy, seizures, and other longer-term mental and brain health disorders remained even after 24 months.

The study analyze data on 14 neurological and psychiatric diagnoses from the TriNetX electronic health records network and found the likelihood of most neurological and psychiatric diagnoses after COVID was lower in children than in adults. Unlike adults, they weren’t at an increased risk of mood or anxiety disorders or any cognitive deficit, but if experienced, they tended to be transient.

Dr. Max Taquet stated that it is good news that the higher risk of depression and anxiety diagnoses after COVID is relatively short-lived and there is no increase in the risk of these diagnoses in children. However, he added that it was worrying that some other conditions, such as dementia and seizures, continued to be more frequently diagnosed after COVID, even two years later. The fact that these risks remained elevated for so long suggests that the underlying mechanisms driving them persisted well past the acute infection period. The mechanism includes potential damage to the cells that line blood vessels, leading to blood clots and leakage of the blood-brain barrier. 

(Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/covid-s-harmful-effects-on-brain-reverberate-years-later-finds-study-122081800127_1.html )