Yoga may cure long-Covid blues, experts say

Researchers find infection doubles the risk for older people of suffering mental health problems later

YOGA and mindfulness classes should be prescribed to older adults who have tested positive for coronavirus, experts have advised, after a study showed that three-quarters remained depressed six months after an infection.

A University College London (UCL) study found that Covid-19 infection doubled the risk of people over the age of 52 suffering mental health and financial problems. It was the first major study to look solely at the effect of infection on mental health, rather than that of the pandemic as a whole.

Researchers said the findings provided evidence that the virus had a long-term impact on mental health and strengthened the hypothesis that damage was being directly caused by the virus, rather than outside factors.

Dr Ellie Iob, of UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, the study’s lead author, said GPs should consider assessing the mental health of older people infected by the virus and offer social prescribing to any who were struggling. “There is little evidence on the impact that contracting Covid-19 infection may have on an individual’s mental health, personal finances, and social relationships,” she said.

“However … older adults with probable Covid-19 infection experienced higher levels of depression and anxiety, poorer quality of life, elevated feelings of loneliness, and greater financial difficulties compared with those without probable infection. This was evident in the acute phase of the infection and up to six months later.

“These results suggest that the adverse psychosocial impact of Covid19 infection is long-lasting.

“Mental health help doesn’t have to be psychotherapy. Alternative methods could be yoga, mindfulness or physical activity. Social prescribing could help by increasing engagement with society and through creative activities.”

The study involved 5,146 adults between the ages of 52 and 74 who were participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. They provided data before the pandemic, at two Covid-19 assessments in June and July 2020, and at follow-up sessions in November and December 2020.

In the summer of 2020, the study found, 49 per cent of older adults with a probable Covid-19 infection had clinically significant depressive symptoms, compared to 22 per cent of those without infection. One in eight was also identified as being anxious, compared to one in 16 without an infection.

The team found the effects remained at the six-month follow-up, and appeared to have become more prevalent during that period. By November and December, 72 per cent had depressive symptoms compared to 33 per cent who had not been infected. Anxiety was also slightly higher in both groups.

In addition, an estimated 40 per cent of older people with probable Covid-19 infection experienced more financial difficulties in June and July 2020 than before the pandemic, compared with 20 per cent of those who had not been infected. Feelings of loneliness were also twice as frequent in older people with probable infection than in those without. However, monetary worries eased by November 2020 and no significant differences were found between those probably infected with Covid-19 and those who were not.

Dr Iob added: “There seems to be something about this virus that affects the body for a long time. It’s stronger than infections like influenza, where you might be sick for a week and recover quickly. The immune system is closely connected to the brain, so [there] could be a causal link between the virus and mental health, although it’s too early to say for definite.”

The research was published in the journal