New research published on November 9, 2020 in The Lancet Psychiatry journal shows 20% of people who contracted and recovered from the coronavirus were diagnosed with a mental illness within 14-90 days after testing positive.

Researchers followed 6.8 million patients (62,354  of those patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 between January 20 and August 1, 2020). According to the data,  20% of those who had COVID-19 were later diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, dementia, anxiety, or insomnia.

Maxine Taquet, PhD et all conclude their report:

“Survivors of COVID-19 appear to be at increased risk of psychiatric sequelae, and a psychiatric diagnosis might be an independent risk factor for COVID-19 […] Although preliminary, our findings have implications for clinical services, and prospective cohort studies are warranted.”

Note that sequelae refers to a condition that develops as the result of a previous disease or injury.

As of this writing, there have been more than 10.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.