VOA慢速英语--有证据表明COVID-19康复者罹患精神疾病的风险增加

Researchers say COVID-19 survivors¹ may be at greater risk of developing mental health issues than other people. That information comes from a large study published earlier this week.

The study found that 20 percent of those infected with the novel coronavirus are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder² within 90 days.

Researchers from Britain's Oxford³ University studied recovered COVID-19 patients who developed mental health problems. They found that the most common issues were anxiety, depression, and insomnia⁴ -- the inability to sleep. They also noted⁵ a much higher risk of dementia, a condition that weakens the brain.

Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry⁶ at Oxford, is one of the researchers. He told Reuters news agency, "People have been worried that COVID-19 survivors will be at greater risk of mental health problems, and our findings ... show this to be likely."

Harrison urged doctors and scientists around the world to urgently investigate the causes of mental conditions after COVID-19. And he wants them to find new treatments for the disease.

Health services need to be ready to provide care, Harrison warned. This is especially true, he said, because the estimates from the study are probably on the low side.

The Oxford researchers looked at electronic health records of 69 million people in the United States. This number included more than 62,000 cases of COVID-19. The researchers said the findings are likely to be the same for those infected by COVID-19 worldwide.

In the three months following a positive test result for COVID-19, one in five survivors said they experienced a first-time diagnosis⁷ of anxiety, depression or insomnia. The researchers said that COVID-19 survivors were twice as likely to be diagnosed with these conditions than other groups of patients in the same three-month period.

The study also found that people with a pre-existing mental condition were 65 percent more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than those without.

A report on the study appeared in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

Mental health specialists not directly involved with the study said its findings add to growing evidence that COVID-19 affects the brain. They said that the disease also can increase the risk of many psychiatric disorders⁸.

"This is likely due to a combination of the psychological stressors associated with this particular pandemic and the physical effects of the illness," noted Michael Bloomfield. He is a psychiatrist⁹ with University College London.

The fact that people with mental health disorders are at higher risk of getting COVID-19 confirms similar findings in other infectious disease outbreaks, said Simon Wessely. He is a professor of psychiatry at King's College London.

"COVID-19 affects the central nervous system," Wessely said, "and so might directly increase" other disorders. But he added that the study confirms there is more going on. The risk, he said, is increased by pre-existing health conditions.

Marjorie Wallace is chief of the mental health aid group SANE¹⁰. She said the study looks like her organization's experience during the coronavirus health crisis.

Wallace said that SANE's telephone helpline is dealing¹¹ with an increasing number of first-time callers who are having mental health issues. Others are relapsing, she said, because their fear and anxiety have become unbearable¹².

Words in This Story

diagnose – v. to recognize a disease, illness, etc., in (someone)

psychiatry – n. a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders psychiatric – adj.

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

dementia – n. a usually progressive condition (as Alzheimer's disease) marked by the development of multiple cognitive¹³ deficits¹⁴ (as memory impairment, aphasia¹⁵, and inability to plan and initiate¹⁶ complex behavior)

positive – adj. good or useful

journal – n. a periodical dealing especially with matters of current interest

stressor – n. a stimulus¹⁷ that causes stress

outbreak – n. a sudden rise in the incidence of a disease

relapse – n. the return of an illness after a period of improvement

1 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

7 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

8 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

10 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

13 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

14 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

15 aphasia   

n.失语症

参考例句：

• Unfortunately,he suffered from sudden onset of aphasia one week later.不幸的是，他术后一星期突然出现失语症。
• My wife is in B-four,stroke and aphasia.我的妻子住在B-4房间，患的是中风和失语症。

16 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

17 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。