Artificial Intelligence is wonderful! I asked it three questions.

• Are long covid and growth hormone deficiency connected?
• Are long covid and suicide connected?
• Are growth hormone deficiency and suicide connected?

Here are the answers I got.

First question: “Viral genes have been found in pituitary tissue from some individuals that died from COVID-19, with pituitary gene regulation disrupted within those individuals (Poma et al., 2022). SARS-CoV-2 infection has recently been associated with reduced GH secretion more acutely (Urhan et al., 2022).”

My second question gave me a reference to “Long Covid and suicide” by Leo Sher (Adv Exp Med Biol, 2024)) saying “Recent studies of patients with long COVID confirm that individuals with long COVID are at increased suicide risk. It is vital to educate clinicians taking care of long COVID individuals that patients with long COVID may be suicidal, that it is essential to screen patients with long COVID for suicidality.”

My third question got a cautious answer: “While growth hormone deficiency (GHD) itself doesn’t directly cause suicide, it is associated with increased rates of anxiety and depression, which are risk factors for suicidal behavior. Studies have shown that individuals with GHD may experience psychological distress, including frustration, anxiety, and depression, which can contribute to suicidal ideation or attempts.”

We at Christopher Lane Trust would give a more forthright answer than that. Just a brief scan through our ‘Personal Stories’ page shows how many people felt suicidal or attempted it before they were diagnosed. Ten people wrote recently to the NHS complaining that their A-Z list of health conditions did not mention GHD. Their letters can be found on my LinkedIn page, and they include one from Robert Hunter, who was undiagnosed for 10 years and attempted suicide three times, and one from Gary who was undiagnosed for 30 years and tried five times. If you feel terribly ill and the years pass, and you gradually conclude that nobody in the world is ever going to help you, suicide is not a surprising choice.

People with long covid are desperate for help, and if nobody gives it, if nobody screens them for GHD, many will make that choice. We must save them before they do.

Another fact from the internet

In March 2023, an estimated 1.9 million people in the UK reported that they were experiencing long covid, representing 2.9% of the population.