Physical and cognitive impairments associated with Long COVID; adults with ADHD may have shorter life expectancies; MS linked to mental illness during and after pregnancy – Morning Medical Update

Physical and cognitive impairments associated with Long COVID

Two-thirds of individuals with Long COVID (post-COVID-19 syndrome) have persistent symptoms, including reduced physical exercise capacity and reduced cognitive test performances, for a year or more. A new study published in PLOS Medicine by Winfried Kern of Freiburg University in Germany, and colleagues, analyzed 982 adults aged 18 to 65 who had previously been identified as having Long COVID, as well as 576 controls. Overwhelmingly, respondents with Long COVID reported fatigue/exhaustion, neurocognitive disturbances, chest symptoms/breathlessness and anxiety/depression/sleep problems, and almost 68% of respondents continued to struggle with symptoms after one year.

Adults diagnosed with ADHD may have shorter life expectancies

According to a study led by University College London (UCL) researchers and published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, adults who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have reduced life expectancies. Researchers analyzed primary care data from 30,029 U.K. adults diagnosed with ADHD, and compared the group with 300,390 participants without ADHD, who were matched by age, sex and primary care practice. The study found an apparent reduction in life expectancy for men with ADHD of between 4.5 and 9 years, and between 6.5 and 11 years for women.

Multiple sclerosis linked to a higher risk of mental illness during and after pregnancy

A new study analyzed more than 890,000 births in Ontario, Canada, and determined that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) face a significantly higher risk of perinatal mental illness compared to people with other chronic conditions. The research, published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found that 8% of people with MS experienced a new mental illness during pregnancy and 14% experienced a new mental illness in the first year postpartum.

Approximately 42% of people with MS were affected by mental illness during pregnancy, and 50% in the first year postpartum, compared to 30% of people without MS during pregnancy and 38% in the first year postpartum.