Long-COVID psychological and neuropsychological symptoms

Raquel Gomez Bravo, Charles Benoy, Mark Ritzen, Alexandre Infanti, Joel Billieux, Claus Vögele

Background:

It is estimated that between 10-20% of people who experienced COVID-19 develop a 'post COVID-19 condition' or 'Long COVID' (LC), which includes all mid- and long-term physical, psychological and neuropsychological symptoms.

Research questions:

What are the psychological and neuropsychological symptoms associated with Long COVID?

Method:

Descriptive, online cross-sectional questionnaire and neuropsychological tests. Participants were recruited through public relations, information and social media campaigns, targeting long COVID patients, general public and healthcare professionals.

Results:

Out of the 1.895 participants who completed the survey, 78.4% reported to have had COVID-19, and 64.3% experienced LC symptoms with fatigue as the most frequently reported symptom (65.4%). The estimated most common Corona variant was omicron (40%), followed by delta (11.5%). There were positive and statistically significant correlations between reported physical symptoms and results from the neuropsychological tests, perceived stress, anxiety and depression scores. The average time that elapsed between LC symptom onset and completion of the online survey was 8.3 months.

Conclusions:

Online real-time neuropsychological testing should be considered as part of the routine evaluation of Long COVID patients to specifically treat these symptoms within multidisciplinary teams.

Points for discussion:

Should validated self-report assessment scales and neuropsychological tests be included in standard diagnostic procedures to adequately address neuropsychological and mental health consequences of long COVID?

Can eHealth solutions offer a valuable alternative to provide effective assessment for Long COVID patients experiencing cognitive impairment?