A new study suggests that whereas most patients will not suffer immediate mental health effects, certain complications could emerge later, The results of the meta-analysis suggest that certain disorders such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder may persist for months or even years in patients severely affected by Covid-19.

In order to understand the long-term effects of severe Covid-19 infection, U.S. researchers have reviewed symptoms in people affected by other forms of coronavirus, notably SARS and MERS.

The meta-analysis of 65 peer reviewed studies and seven pre-prints on the observed psychiatric consequences of more than 3,550 severe infections with SARS (2002), MERS (2012) and Covid-19.

The study was limited to cases treated in hospital and therefore does not apply to patients who experienced milder symptoms or were asymptomatic.

The results of the analysis, published in The Lancet Psychiatry suggest that whereas most patients will not suffer immediate mental health effects, certain complications like depression, anxiety, fatigue, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could emerge in the months and years that follow hospitalisation.

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(Reuters Health) – When transgender people undergo sex-reassignment surgery, the beneficial effect on their mental health is still evident – and increasing – years later, a Swedish study suggests.

Overall, people in the study with gender incongruence – that is, their biological gender doesn’t match the gender with which they identify – were six times more likely than people in the general population to visit a doctor for mood and anxiety disorders. They were also three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants, and six times more likely to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt, researchers found.

But among trans people who had undergone gender-affirming surgery, the longer ago their surgery, the less likely they were to suffer anxiety, depression or suicidal behavior during the study period, researchers reported in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Surgery to modify a person’s sex characteristics “is often the last and the most considered step in the treatment process for gender dysphoria,” according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Many transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals “find comfort with their gender identity, role, and expression without surgery,” but for others, “surgery is essential and medically necessary to alleviate their gender dysphoria,” according to the organization. (bit.ly/2WEn9Lg)

While the new study confirms that transgender individuals are more likely to use mental health treatments, it also shows that gender-affirming therapy might reduce this risk, coauthor Richard Branstrom of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm told Reuters Health by email.

Branstrom and colleague John Pachankis of the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Connecticut found that as of 2015, 2,679 people in Sweden had a diagnosis of gender incongruence, out of the total population of 9.7 million.

That year, 9.3% of people with gender incongruence visited a doctor for mood disorders, 7.4% saw a doctor for anxiety disorders, and 29% were on antidepressants. In the general population, those percentages were 1%, 0.6% and 9.4%, respectively.

Just over 70% of people with gender incongruence were receiving feminizing or masculinizing hormones to modify outward sexual features such as breasts, body fat distribution, and facial hair, and 48% had undergone gender-affirming surgery. Nearly all of those who had surgery also received hormone therapy.

The benefit of hormone treatment did not increase with time. But “increased time since last gender-affirming surgery was associated with fewer mental health treatments,” the authors report.

In fact, they note, “The likelihood of being treated for a mood or anxiety disorder was reduced by 8% for each year since the last gender-affirming surgery,” for up to 10 years.

Transgender individuals’ use of mental health care still exceeded that of the general Swedish population, which the research team suggests is due at least partly to stigma, economic inequality and victimization.

“We need greater visibility and knowledge about challenges people are confronted with while breaking gender and identity norms,” Branstrom said.

Dr. Joshua Safer, executive director at Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City, told Reuters Health by email, “If anything, the study likely under-reports mental health benefits of medical and surgical care for transgender individuals.”

Safer, who was not involved in the study, said the fact that mental health continued to improve for years after surgery “suggests (surgery provides) extended and ongoing benefit to patients living according to gender identity.”

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Endometriosis affects approximately 1 in 10 women in their reproductive years. The condition, described as debilitating, painful, and emotionally-draining, has taken a toll on the lives of many women across the globe. But the condition isn’t getting the needed adequate attention, hinting the need for more research on ways to battle it.

In a recent study pioneered by BBC, they found that more than 13,500 women living with endometriosis experience debilitating pain, that has affected their careers, mental health, and sex life. The study explored the experiences of women with endometriosis and how they cope with the condition.

In the largest study into the condition, the researchers found that around half of the participants said they experienced suicidal thoughts. The BBC study also reports that women with the condition describe the pain as like hot knives stabbing through the body, with sensations of twisting and stretching.

Some women with the condition experience painful periods, so severe that it has affected their lives, education, career, and relationships. The researchers acquired data by letting women fill up a questionnaire on how the condition has impacted them. With the help of Endometriosis UK, they collected and collated the responses.

Endometriosis negatively impacts women’s lives

Most of the respondents said that endometriosis had impacted on their education, they rely on prescription painkillers each month, including potentially-addictive opioids, and about half of the women verbalized that they had experienced suicidal thoughts.

The alarming results of the study has warranted the government to act. Following the publication of the study, the MPs plan to conduct an inquiry to help the patients with the condition and determine how it affects the lives of women in the United Kingdom.

The Endometriosis UK emphasizes that endometriosis can negatively impact the lives of women, both physically and mentally. Further research is needed to lessen the diagnosis time, and allow women to have better access to proper pain management.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a reproductive condition wherein the tissue that normally lines the uterus or womb, grows outside of the uterus. Endometriosis is estimated to affect an estimated one in 10 women during their reproductive age.

In the United States, an estimated 11 percent of American women between the age of 15 and 44 are living with endometriosis. Across the globe, endometriosis affects approximately 176 million women in the world. Dubbed as an invisible illness, the condition’s primary symptoms are pain and infertility.

The other symptoms of the condition include pain during sexual intercourse, painful and debilitating menstrual cramps, pain in the lower abdomen, heavy menstrual periods, bleeding in between periods, and painful bowel movements or urination during menstrual periods. Some women may experience fatigue and weakness.

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