Post COVID Depression and Neuropsychiatric Problems

COVID-19 is recognized as a multi-organ disease. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has formulated "post-Covid conditions" to describe health issues that persist more than four weeks after being infected with COVID-19. These include, long Covid (which consists of a wide range of symptoms that can last from weeks to months) or persistent post-Covid syndrome (PPCS). The typical clinical symptoms in "long Covid" are tiredness, dyspnoea, fatigue, brain fogginess, autonomic dysfunction, headache, persistent loss of smell or taste, cough, depression, low-grade fevers, palpitations, dizziness, muscle pain, and joint pains. Multiorgan effects of COVID-19 include clinical manifestations pertaining to the cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, and neuropsychiatric organ systems, although the duration of these multiorgan system effects is unclear. Covid resulted in psychopathological disturbances like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, insomnia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Females, young adults, and previous psychiatric patients showed increased scores with similar baseline inflammation. "Cytokine storm" involved in the immune response to coronaviruses may cause psychiatric symptoms by precipitating neuro-inflammation. Coronavirus either directly infect CNS or indirectly via an immune response. Interaction between innate and adaptive immunity and neurotransmitters emerged as a mechanism for psychiatric problems. Immunological mechanism, past memories of severe illness, quarantine and fear of illness experienced by patients during Covid-19 are psychological stressors.