Neuropsychiatric and Psychological Symptoms in Patients with Lyme Disease: A Study of 252 Patients

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between neuropsychiatric and psychological symptoms in patients with Lyme borreliosis. We collected data from an experimental group of 252 Lyme disease patients and a control group of 267 healthy individuals. The quality of life and sleep, attention and memory performance were assessed in both groups. Additionally, we investigated depressive symptoms in patients with Lyme disease to examine whether the duration of the disease had an influence on the severity of symptoms shown. Furthermore, various data on the diagnostics and treatment carried out in the patient group were recorded. On average, patients visited almost eight physicians to obtain a diagnosis, and eight years passed between the tick bite and diagnosis (SD ± 7.8); less than half of the sample (46%) received their diagnosis within the first five years after the development of symptoms. It became clear that Lyme disease is often diagnosed very late. It appears that people suffering from Lyme disease have significantly lower quality of life and sleep and show cognitive impairments when it comes to attention and memory. This study shows that 3.1% of Lyme patients were satisfied with their lives and that 37% scored in the lower third of the quality-of-life scale. It was also shown that Lyme patients tend to have depressive symptoms.

Neuropsychiatric Manifestations and Cognitive Decline in Patients With Long-Standing Lyme Disease: A Scoping Review

“…Patients with a prior history of LD frequently reported an increase in depressive symptoms post infection. One study found that 68% of patients with a current or prior diagnosis of LD had Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores that met the criteria for clinical depression [ 12 ]. Interestingly, another study from Poland found that patients who were diagnosed with early B. burgdorferi infection through serological testing presented higher levels of depression and anxiety compared to patients with late infection [ 13 ].…”

“…Out of 10 articles analyzed, five found that generalized cognitive decline was evident among LD patients who had neuroborreliosis [ 12 , 15 - 18 ]. In comparison to healthy control populations, LSLD patients displayed deficits in working memory, verbal learning/memory, non-verbal learning/memory, alertness, visuoconstructive, and frontal executive functions.…”

“…Some of the most prominent clinical findings relating to cognitive dysfunction in LD patients post infection included sustained attention impairments, fatigue, brain fog, and impairments in memory [ 16 ]. One study found that LD patients performed worse on evaluations for alertness and memory compared to healthy control groups [ 12 ]. Only 46% of these studied patients received their diagnosis within the first five years after the development of their symptoms [ 12 ].…”

“…One study found that LD patients performed worse on evaluations for alertness and memory compared to healthy control groups [ 12 ]. Only 46% of these studied patients received their diagnosis within the first five years after the development of their symptoms [ 12 ].…”

Parasitic manipulation or side effects? The effects of pastToxoplasmaandBorreliainfections on human personality and cognitive performance are not mediated by impaired health

“…(Bransfield, 2018). Some behavioral changes have been observed, but they seem to be merely transient side effects of either current or recent Lyme disease (Makara-Studzinska et al, 2017; Hundersen et al, 2021; Tetens et al, 2021).…”