Note to the reader: As of January 12, 2021, this graphic's contents have been revised.

First, we would like to thank everyone who engaged with our last infographic. We are especially thankful to those who suggested we review some of its message. The peer-review process is essential in science and, as you noted, some of the language we had used was not rigorous or accurate enough. To address your concerns, we have now revised the infographic:

1. To address agism and confusion around the term “young”: where it read “COVID-19 affects young people” it now reads “COVID-19 can affect people of all ages” and “younger than 60" was replaced with “under 60”.
   
2. We clarified that this research was conducted on “hospitalized COVID-19 patients” to emphasize that moderate and serious neurological and psychiatric complications related to Covid-19 in this study were reported and monitored in an acute setting.
   
3. We substituted “dementia” with “memory problems” in order to be more clear and descriptive of “dementia-like symptoms” in the paper.

We are truly thankful to the Wearing is Caring community for their critical assessment of our post. The article summary on this website has not been edited and we encourage you to learn more about the entire study, since the above graphic is only a snapshot of the results!

Reference:

Varatharaj, Aravinthan, et al. “Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Complications of COVID-19 in 153 Patients: a UK-Wide Surveillance Study.” The Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 7, no. 10, Oct. 2020, pp. 875–882., doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30287-X.

Experimental Design:

In April, researchers in the UK created a database to collect clinical information on neurological symptoms found in COVID-19 patients. They wanted to understand how COVID-19 affects the brain and mental health in both young and older adults. The researchers looked at 153 patients and organized the neurological symptoms found into several categories: 1) cerebrovascular events (strokes); 2) altered mental status (personality and behavioral changes); and 3) damage to nerves.

Results:

• Although the median age was 71, about a quarter (24%) of these patients with neurological symptoms were under 60. 
• 62% of patients experienced cerebrovascular symptoms, mostly (87%) strokes.
  • 16% of these patients were younger than 60.
• 31% of the patients experienced altered mental status.
  • 49% (half!) of the patients with altered mental status were younger than 60!
  • 59% of these patients experienced neuropsychiatric disorders such as anxiety or depression, personality changes, and dementia-like syndromes.
  • 18% of the patients with altered mental status experienced both brain inflammation and signs of brain disease.
• 5% of the patients experienced damage to the nerves, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome. 
  • 50% (half!) of the patients with nerve damage were younger than 60!

It is important to note that the rates of neurological complications found above cannot be generalized for all COVID-19 cases, but instead offer a broad perspective on the potential severe complications associated with the virus.

What does this mean?

COVID-19 may be associated with serious neurological complications like stroke, anxiety or depression, personality changes, and psychosis regardless of age. Symptoms such as altered mental status and nerve damage have been shown to be just as common in younger adults and older adults. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, it is especially essential to take care of your mental health in addition to your physical health, regardless of your age. If you are feeling persistent anxiety or depression, help is available. 

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