Estimating the burden of mental health impairment after COVID-19. [Estimación de la carga del deterioro de la salud mental después de COVID-19]

We carried out an infodemiological analysis to further define the burden of these adverse functional consequences presumably caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in two representative countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of Google searches for “fatigue” significantly increased by 9.2% in the US (83 [IQR, 77-88]) vs. 76 [IQR, 72-79]; p<0.001) and by 6.7% in the UK (80 [IQR, 74-86] vs. 75 [IQR, 68-80]; p<0.001). The volume of Google searches for “insomnia” also significantly increased by 7.2% in the US (74 [IQR,70-77] vs. 69 [IQR, 65-73]; p<0.001), but remained unchanged in the UK (56 [IQR, 51-62] vs. 57 [IQR, 52-62]; p=0.433). A dramatic increase in the volume of Google searches for “brain fog” was instead observed in both countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically by 96.3% in the US (53 [IQR, 38-61]; p<0.001) and by 115.8% in the UK (41 [IQR, 30-52] vs. 19 [IQR, 17-22]; p<0.001), respectively. This evidence implies that the governments and healthcare systems shall engage in proactive efforts to manage the large burden of adverse functional consequences, especially impaired consciousness, that patients may develop during or after recovering from COVID-19.