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Updated October 9th, 2021 at 11:57 IST

Deaths in people with mental health illness surged during COVID-19 pandemic: Study

The mortality in individuals with mental health problems and mental retardation surged much more during March and June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
COVID deaths
Image: Unsplash | Image:self
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The latest study by King's College London revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of fatalities among people with mental health issues and intellectual impairments had increased. The study has been conducted on over 160,000 patients. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the mortality rates among people with serious mental illnesses were already higher when compared to the general population. Yet, the new study released in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe stated that the mortality in individuals with mental health problems and mental retardation surged much more during March and June 2020, in the first wave of COVID-19 comparison to the general public. 

As per the study, during the first lockdown timeframe, fatalities from COVID-19 infections in individuals with learning impairments were nine times greater than the general public. It also revealed that COVID deaths were nearly five times higher in those suffering from eating disorders. At the same time, the COVID deaths were almost four times greater in persons with psychological disorders and dementia, further, over three times higher in people with schizophrenia than general people.  

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) sponsored the study, which utilised the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) technology to analyse anonymous information and data from medical e-records of patients in South London. Researchers examined anonymised data from nearly 167,122 patients at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust on fatalities during 2019 and 2020 using the NIHR Maudsley BRC's CRIS. They also evaluated the death ratios for nine mental illnesses and intellectual impairments. The patients were adjusted for age and gender, and then comparison was made to England and Wales' five-year weekly average mortality (between 2015 to 2019). These were then compared to population statistics from London to see if local area COVID effects could explain the estimates.

'Higher death rates compared to the general population'

Citing the main author Dr Jayati Das-Munshi, Reader in Social and Psychiatric Epidemiology at King's College London and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, ANI reported, "The results from our study paint a stark picture of how the existing vulnerability of those with mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The higher death rates compared to the general population were associated with more deaths from COVID-19 infection itself, as well as deaths from other causes.” 

She said that throughout the pandemic, those with severe mental illnesses and intellectual impairments should be regarded as a vulnerable population at risk of COVID-19 death and fatalities from other causes. She also advised that during and post the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals living with mental health problems should be prioritised for providing vaccines and optimising physical health treatment and suicide risk reduction. 

Further, Rob Stewart, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Clinical Informatics at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), as well as the senior author of the study, stated that these findings, as well as its ramifications, highlight the significance of being able to learn from medical records. He further explained that they would be able to follow the growth of the COVID-19 epidemic and its effect on mental health care since CRIS data is updated regularly in Maudsley. 

Meanwhile, Deaths among people with mental illnesses and intellectual disabilities had decreased from July to September 2020 as COVID-19 instances decreased and lockdowns were lifted, but they remained twice as high as the general population, which was close to the numbers before the pandemic. 

Image: Unsplash

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Published October 9th, 2021 at 11:57 IST

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