Effects of diagnosis threat on cognitive complaints after COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: The term "long-COVID" refers to the persistence of neurological symptoms after being ill with COVID-19 (e.g., headaches, fatigue, and attentional impairment). Providing information about long-COVID (i.e., "diagnosis threat") increased subjective cognitive complaints among recovered COVID-19 patients compared with those exposed to neutral information (Winter & Braw, 2022). Notably, this effect was particularly prominent among more suggestible participants. Our aim in the current study was to validate these initial findings and to explore the impact of additional variables (e.g., suggestibility). METHOD: Recovered patients (n = 270) and controls (n = 290) reported daily cognitive failures after being randomly assigned to either a diagnosis threat (exposure to an article providing information regarding long-COVID) or a control condition. RESULTS: Recovered patients, but not controls, reported more cognitive failures in the diagnosis threat condition compared with the control condition. Diagnosis threat added significantly to the prediction of cognitive complaints based on relevant demographic variables and suggestibility. Diagnosis threat and suggestibility interacted (i.e., suggestible individuals were particularly vulnerable to the impact of a diagnosis threat). CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis threat may contribute to the persistence of complaints regarding cognitive impairment among recovered COVID-19 patients. Suggestibility may be an underlying mechanism that increases the impact of diagnosis threat. Other factors, such as vaccination status, may be at play though we are only at the initial stages of research concerning their impact. These may be the focus of future research, aiding in identifying risk factors for experiencing COVID-19 symptoms past the resolution of its acute phase. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

COVID-19: Impact of diagnosis threat and suggestibility on subjective cognitive complaints.

A subset of recovered COVID-19 patients report persistent neurological symptoms. These include non-specific symptoms (e.g., headaches and fatigue) which were found to be affected by psychological processes in other disorders (e.g., post-concussion syndrome, PCS, after mild traumatic brain injury). The current study assessed the impact of diagnosis threat (i.e., information regarding the long-term neurological impact of COVID-19) and suggestibility on endorsed symptoms of both recovered patients and healthy controls. Method: Recovered patients (n = 90) and healthy controls (n = 210) described their cognitive functioning after being randomly assigned to: (a) Experimental group: These participants read an article that explored long-term neurological symptoms among COVID-19 survivors. (b) Control group: These participants read an article providing general information regarding the disease. Results: Recovered patients, but not healthy controls, endorsed more symptoms in the experimental condition compared to the control condition. Moreover, suggestibility was correlated with endorsement of symptoms. Conclusions: Post COVID-19 neurological symptoms may, at least partially, be affected by non-neurological factors such as diagnosis threat. Information regarding long-term effects of COVID-19 may skew reported symptoms with highly suggestible individuals particularly susceptible to these effects. Further research, however, is needed to validate and elaborate upon these initial findings.

Pacientes con COVID-19 recuperados informan síntomas neurológicos persistentes (e.g., dolor de cabeza y fatiga) que se vieron afectados por procesos psicológicos en otros trastornos (e.g., Síndrome postconmoción cerebral después de una lesión cerebral traumática leve). Se evaluó el impacto de la amenaza del diagnóstico (i.e., información sobre el impacto neurológico a largo plazo del COVID-19) y la sugestión sobre los síntomas respaldados tanto de pacientes recuperados como de controles sanos. Método: Pacientes recuperados (n = 90) y controles sanos (n = 210) informaron sobre su funcionamiento cognitivo después de haber sido asignados al azar a: (a) condición que exploró los síntomas neurológicos a largo plazo entre los sobrevivientes de COVID-19; (b) condición de control que proporciona información general sobre la enfermedad. Resultados: Pacientes recuperados, pero no los controles sanos, aprobaron más síntomas en la condición experimental que en la control. La sugestión se asoció con una mayor aprobación de síntomas. Conclusiones: Los síntomas neurológicos posteriores al COVID-19 pueden verse afectados, al menos parcialmente, por factores no neurológicos como la amenaza del diagnóstico. La información sobre los efectos a largo plazo de COVID-19 puede sesgar los síntomas informados en individuos altamente sugestionables. Se necesitan más investigaciones para validar y desarrollar estos hallazgos iniciales.