Depressed, nervous, concerned, agitated, or lonely people infected with COVID-19 may develop long-lasting symptoms, a Harvard-led research finds.
The probability of developing a disabling, long-term disease after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection was independent of smoking, asthma, and other health habits or disorders, according to the researchers.
Psychological distress before COVID-19 infection increased the chance of protracted COVID by 32% to 46% and "everyday life impairment" by 15% to 51%.
"We were shocked by how strongly psychological discomfort was connected with lengthy COVID," study author Siwen Wang stated in a news statement.
"Distress was more significantly connected with extended COVID than obesity, asthma, and hypertension," said Wang.
This follows a British research from late July that found persons with extended COVID have hair loss, sexual dysfunction, exhaustion, respiratory issues, and brain fog.