Science and Research

Effects of Pre-Existing Mental Conditions on Fatigue and Psychological Symptoms Post-COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Patients who are post-COVID-19 will require more treatment soon. Therefore, it is important to understand the root cause of their psychological and somatic conditions. Previous studies showed contradictory results on the influence of pre-existing mental conditions. The present study examines the influence of these pre-existing conditions and their pre-treatment on the severity of post-COVID-19 symptoms. METHODS: This analysis employs questionnaire data from a large study sample in Germany. Overall, 801 participants were included. All participants rated their health status on a scale from 0 to 100. Fatigue, depression, and anxiety were measured using the FAS, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 scales. RESULTS: All pre-pandemic values showed no significant differences between the groups. The current health status was rated similarly by the recovered patients (μ = 80.5 ± 17.0) and the control group (μ = 81.2 ± 18.0) but significantly worse by acutely infected (μ = 59.0 ± 21.5) and post-COVID-19 patients (μ = 54.2 ± 21.1). Fatigue, depression, and anxiety were similar for recovered patients and the control group. By contrast, there were significant differences between the control and the post-COVID-19 groups concerning fatigue (45.9% vs. 93.1%), depression (19.3% vs. 53.8%), and anxiety (19.3% vs. 22.3%). CONCLUSION: Fatigue and psychological conditions of post-COVID-19 patients are not associated with pre-existing conditions.

  • Homann, S.
  • Mikuteit, M.
  • Niewolik, J.
  • Behrens, G. M. N.
  • Stölting, A.
  • Müller, F.
  • Schröder, D.
  • Heinemann, S.
  • Müllenmeister, C.
  • El-Sayed, I.
  • Happle, C.
  • Steffens, S.
  • Dopfer-Jablonka, A.

Keywords

  • anxiety
  • depression
  • fatigue
  • post-COVID-19
  • psychological pre-conditions
Publication details
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19169924
Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health
Number: 16
Work Type: Original
Location: BREATH
Disease Area: PALI
Partner / Member: MHH
Access-Number: 36011559

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