Long-COVID Syndrome? A Study on the Persistence of Neurological, Psychological and Physiological Symptoms

Abstract

Background: Emerging aspects of the Covid-19 clinical presentation are its long-term effects, which are characteristic of the so-called “long COVID”. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of physical, psychological, and sleep disturbances and the quality of life in the general population during the ongoing pandemic. Methods: This study, based on an online survey, collected demographic data, information related to COVID-19, sleep disturbances, and quality of life data from 507 individuals. The level of sleep disturbances and quality of life was assessed through the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), respectively. Results: In total, 507 individuals (M = 91 and F = 416 women) completed the online survey. The main symptoms associated with “long COVID” were headache, fatigue, muscle aches/myalgia, articular pains, cognitive impairment, loss of concentration, and loss of smell. Additionally, the subjects showed significant levels of insomnia (p < 0.05) and an overall reduced quality of life (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of the study appear in line with recent publications, but uncertainty regarding the definition and specific features of “long COVID” remains. Further studies are needed in order to better define the clinical presentation of the “long COVID” condition and related targeted treatments.

How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?

“…Moreover, as suggested above, further studies should investigate the role of other variables, such as personality traits or attachment styles, in the complex interplay between alexithymia and Internet/Instagram addiction. Finally, it is important to underline that recent studies are evaluating the presence of peritraumatic symptoms due to the long-COVID syndrome [ 153 , 154 ]. If, on the one hand, in our sample, no differences were found in the psychological variables measured between emerging adults infected by COVID-19 and those not infected, on the other hand, emerging adults infected by COVID-19 only represented 9% of the sample and no data were obtained on the date on which the subjects were infected.…”

Impact of COVID-19 Infection on Quality of Sleep

“…A study was conducted on 507 individuals to compare sleep disturbances using Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) between non-COVID, COVID positive, and post COVID patients. The study demonstrated that patients with long COVID showed a significant prevalence of insomnia along with an overall reduction in the quality of life (QOL) [ 11 ]. In a case series conducted on post-COVID-19 patients discharged from the University of Virginia ICU, 22% of patients reported new-onset insomnia at a six-week follow-up when assessed using ISI [ 9 ].…”

„Coronasomnia“ – Resilienzförderung durch Insomniebehandlung

“…Mögliche Langzeitfolgen für die Gesundheit nach einer COVID-19-Infektion, die über die übliche Genesungsdauer hinausgehen, werden unter dem Begriff „Long-COVID“ oder auch „Post-COVID-Syndrom“ zusammengefasst [ 8 ]. Long-COVID umfasst neben kardiovaskulären Symptomen auch pneumologische, neurologische, gastrointestinale, muskuloskelettale, inflammatorische, kognitive, dermatologische und psychosomatische Symptome sowie Müdigkeit und Schlafstörungen.…”

“…Zusätzlich wurden zur Erfassung von Insomniesymptomen und der Lebensqualität validierte Fragebögen verwendet. Betroffene von COVID-19 wiesen signifikant höhere Insomniescores im Vergleich zu Proband*innen auf, die nicht von COVID-19 betroffen waren ( p < 0,05), auch nach der Genesung von der Erkrankung waren die Insomniescores erhöht [ 8 ].…”