Stress, anxiety, and depression severity among individuals with no history, previous history, or current history of long COVID

Abstract

Objective: Long COVID has been associated with psychological symptoms, yet it is unknown if the symptom burden of individuals with current and previous long COVID differ. This pre-registered cross-sectional study assessed stress, anxiety, and depression severity among individuals with no history, previous history, or current long COVID symptoms.

Methods: Adults (N = 2872) in the United States participated in an online survey detailing experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Included participants reported ≥1 COVID-19 infection, and self-reported long COVID symptoms (past and present) were assessed. A multivariable linear regression evaluated the association of long COVID status and stress, anxiety, and depression severity. Post-hoc contrasts were performed to probe significant differences among no, previous, and current long COVID symptom groups.

Results: Of 2872 participants with history of COVID-19 infection, 2310 reported no history of, 183 reported previous history of, and 379 reported current long COVID symptoms. Participants were an average 41.3 years of age, with most identifying as female (51.7%), White (87.7%), and non-Hispanic or Latino (84.1%). Individuals with current and previous history of long COVID reported greater stress, anxiety, and depression compared to the no history group (all ps < 0.05; current vs. no history Cohen's ds = 0.71-0.93; previous vs. no history ds = 0.30-0.66) after adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors.

Conclusions: Both current and previous long COVID may be associated with psychological symptoms.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Long COVID; Post-acute sequalae of COVID-19; Post-viral syndrome; Psychological stress.