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

Stefanie Homann, Marie Mikuteit, Jacqueline Niewolik, Georg M. N. Behrens, Andrea Stölting, Frank Müller, Dominik Schröder, Stephanie Heinemann, Christina Müllenmeister, Iman El-Sayed, Christine Happle, Sandra Steffens and Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka ()
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Stefanie Homann: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Marie Mikuteit: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Jacqueline Niewolik: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Georg M. N. Behrens: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Andrea Stölting: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Frank Müller: Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Dominik Schröder: Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Stephanie Heinemann: Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Christina Müllenmeister: Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Iman El-Sayed: Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Christine Happle: Department of Pediatric Pneumology, Allergology, and Neonatology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Sandra Steffens: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Alexandra Dopfer-Jablonka: Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: post-COVID-19; fatigue; anxiety; depression; psychological pre-conditions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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