COVID-19 may increase the risk of a rare blood clot in the eye

Being SARS-CoV-2 virus infection may increase the risk of blood vessel blockages elsewhere in the body. Scientists studied nearly 0.5 million COVID-19 patients to see if they formed blood clot in a vein or artery of the retina, the nerve tissue at the back of the eye that receives images and sends them to the brain, or not. Over the next six months, 65 patients developed retinal vein occlusion.

While the above figure is low, this reflects a 54% increase from pre-COVID-19 rates, according to a report published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. The formation of blood clots in the retinal arteries is 35% more common after COVID-19 than before, but this difference may be due to randomness. Blood clots most commonly occur in patients with other medical conditions that increase the risk of blood vessel problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

The risk of blood clots does not appear to be related to the severity of COVID-19 disease. The researchers noted that the study could not prove that COVID-19 caused blood clots in the eyes of these patients, adding that further studies are needed.

In addition, new data shows that people with mental health problems are at increased risk of developing a breakthrough infection (where a person is fully vaccinated against a disease but gets the same disease again). ) was higher after vaccination against COVID-19.

Researchers in California followed more than 0.25 million fully vaccinated patients in the Veterans Administration health system. Nearly all were male, and about half had been diagnosed with a mental health problem at least once in the past 5 years. Overall, 14.8% contracted COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Compared with study participants who had not been diagnosed with a mental health problem, those over the age of 65 who abused substances, had psychosis, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder, or frequent Anxiety faces up to 24% higher risk of breakthrough infection, study shows. For those under 65, the risk was up to 11 percent higher than for those without a psychiatric history.

Lead researcher Aoife O’Donovan of the San Francisco VA Health Care System said: “Our study shows that the increase in breakthrough infections in people with mental disorders cannot be fully explained by sociodemographic factors or pre-existing medical conditions. . It is possible that immunity after vaccination weakens faster or stronger for people with mental disorders and/or they may have less protection against new variants.”.

Accordingly, the results of the above study have not been peer-reviewed and need to be analyzed further to confirm.

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