tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
BMJ Ment Health
. 2024 Mar 15;27(1):e300907.
doi: 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300907. Psychological burden associated with incident persistent symptoms and their evolution during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective population-based study
Baptiste Pignon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Joane Matta[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emmanuel Wiernik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Anne Toussaint[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Bernd Loewe[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Olivier Robineau[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Fabrice Carrat[SUP] 4 6 [/SUP], Gianluca Severi[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Mathilde Touvier[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Clement Gouraud[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Charles Ouazana Vedrines[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Victor Pitron[SUP] 12 13 [/SUP], Brigitte Ranque[SUP] 14 [/SUP], Nicolas Hoertel[SUP] 15 16 [/SUP], Sofiane Kab[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marcel Goldberg[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marie Zins[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cédric Lemogne[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Background: Identifying factors that predict the course of persistent symptoms that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health issue. Modifiable factors could be targeted in therapeutic interventions.
Objective: This prospective study based on the population-based CONSTANCES cohort examined whether the psychological burden associated with incident persistent symptoms (ie, that first occurred from March 2020) would predict having ≥1 persistent symptom 6-10 months later.
Methods: A total of 8424 participants (mean age=54.6 years (SD=12.6), 57.2% women) having ≥1 incident persistent symptom at baseline (ie, between December 2020 and February 2021) were included. The psychological burden associated with these persistent symptoms was assessed with the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). The outcome was having ≥1 persistent symptom at follow-up. Adjusted binary logistic regression models examined the association between the SSD-12 score and the outcome.
Findings: At follow-up, 1124 participants (13.3%) still had ≥1 persistent symptom. The SSD-12 score at baseline was associated with persistent symptoms at follow-up in both participants with (OR (95% CI) for one IQR increase: 1.42 (1.09 to 1.84)) and without SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to baseline (1.39 (1.25 to 1.55)). Female gender, older age, poorer self-rated health and infection prior to baseline were also associated with persistent symptoms at follow-up.
Conclusions: The psychological burden associated with persistent symptoms at baseline predicted the presence of ≥1 persistent symptom at follow-up regardless of infection prior to baseline.
Clinical implications: Intervention studies should test whether reducing the psychological burden associated with persistent symptoms could improve the course of these symptoms.
Keywords: COVID-19.
. 2024 Mar 15;27(1):e300907.
doi: 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300907. Psychological burden associated with incident persistent symptoms and their evolution during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective population-based study
Baptiste Pignon[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Joane Matta[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Emmanuel Wiernik[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Anne Toussaint[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Bernd Loewe[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Olivier Robineau[SUP] 4 5 [/SUP], Fabrice Carrat[SUP] 4 6 [/SUP], Gianluca Severi[SUP] 7 8 [/SUP], Mathilde Touvier[SUP] 9 [/SUP], Clement Gouraud[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP], Charles Ouazana Vedrines[SUP] 10 [/SUP], Victor Pitron[SUP] 12 13 [/SUP], Brigitte Ranque[SUP] 14 [/SUP], Nicolas Hoertel[SUP] 15 16 [/SUP], Sofiane Kab[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marcel Goldberg[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Marie Zins[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Cédric Lemogne[SUP] 10 11 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 38490690
- DOI: 10.1136/bmjment-2023-300907
Background: Identifying factors that predict the course of persistent symptoms that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is a public health issue. Modifiable factors could be targeted in therapeutic interventions.
Objective: This prospective study based on the population-based CONSTANCES cohort examined whether the psychological burden associated with incident persistent symptoms (ie, that first occurred from March 2020) would predict having ≥1 persistent symptom 6-10 months later.
Methods: A total of 8424 participants (mean age=54.6 years (SD=12.6), 57.2% women) having ≥1 incident persistent symptom at baseline (ie, between December 2020 and February 2021) were included. The psychological burden associated with these persistent symptoms was assessed with the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12). The outcome was having ≥1 persistent symptom at follow-up. Adjusted binary logistic regression models examined the association between the SSD-12 score and the outcome.
Findings: At follow-up, 1124 participants (13.3%) still had ≥1 persistent symptom. The SSD-12 score at baseline was associated with persistent symptoms at follow-up in both participants with (OR (95% CI) for one IQR increase: 1.42 (1.09 to 1.84)) and without SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to baseline (1.39 (1.25 to 1.55)). Female gender, older age, poorer self-rated health and infection prior to baseline were also associated with persistent symptoms at follow-up.
Conclusions: The psychological burden associated with persistent symptoms at baseline predicted the presence of ≥1 persistent symptom at follow-up regardless of infection prior to baseline.
Clinical implications: Intervention studies should test whether reducing the psychological burden associated with persistent symptoms could improve the course of these symptoms.
Keywords: COVID-19.