Frontiers in Psychology (Mar 2024)

Factors associated with prolonged COVID-related PTSD-like symptoms among adults diagnosed with mild COVID-19 in Poland

  • Sapir Elkayam,
  • Emilia Łojek,
  • Marcin Sękowski,
  • Dominika Żarnecka,
  • Anna Egbert,
  • Julia Wyszomirska,
  • Karolina Hansen,
  • Ewa Malinowska,
  • Lucette Cysique,
  • Bernice Marcopulos,
  • Bernice Marcopulos,
  • Natalia Gawron,
  • Marta Sobańska,
  • Małgorzata Gambin,
  • Paweł Holas,
  • Agnieszka Pluta,
  • Sylwia Hyniewska

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1358979
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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COVID-19 has been considered a possible cause of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or similar conditions. However, what specific disease symptoms may contribute most to prolonged PTSD-like symptoms in COVID-19 survivors is unclear. The study aimed to present the factor structure of COVID-19 symptoms and identify which symptoms of COVID-19 best explain the subsequent presence of PTSD-like symptoms in mild COVID-19 survivors. COVID-positive adults (n = 341) completed online self-report scales at the baseline assessment (T1) and after approximately 4 months (T2), including The Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale; The Scale of Psychosocial Experience Related to COVID-19, The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5; and self-designed questionnaires evaluating the severity of COVID-related medical and neurocognitive symptoms and pre-pandemic variables. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors of COVID-19 symptoms: flu-like, respiratory, cold, neurological, and neurocognitive. Hierarchical logistic regression showed that besides selected control variables (anxiety and depression, presence of PTSD-like symptoms, COVID-related stigma in T1), neurocognitive symptoms of COVID-19 in T1 but not other symptoms of the disease were a significant predictor of the presence of PTSD-like symptom in T2. Findings suggest a need for a comprehensive neurocognitive assessment of people diagnosed with COVID-19 and prompt interventions targeting the prevention of potential risks for long-term PTSD-like states at the community level.

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