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. 2025 Jul 14.
doi: 10.1007/s00406-025-02065-1. Online ahead of print.

Psychopathological, neuropsychological and sociodemographic description of the population using a post-COVID outpatient clinic: results from the 2Long4COVID BLOOD study

Katharina Dünnwald  1 , Yannik Adam  2 , Donata von Freymann  2 , Alexia Synetou  2 , Stefan Kruse  2 , Elisabeth Pracht  3 , Dominic Rauschning  3 , Clara Lehmann  3   4   5 , Joseph Kambeitz  2 , Theresa Katharina Lichtenstein  2
Affiliations

Psychopathological, neuropsychological and sociodemographic description of the population using a post-COVID outpatient clinic: results from the 2Long4COVID BLOOD study

Katharina Dünnwald et al. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. .

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is estimated to be below 1%, with notable variation across different SARS-CoV-2 variants. The syndrome is characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations affecting multiple organ systems. Cognitive impairments and psychological distress are frequently observed; however, their underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood.

Objective: This study examines the sociodemographic, psychopathological, and neuropsychological characteristics of patients treated at our psychiatric post-COVID outpatient clinic (PPCO-clinic).

Method: Patients were recruited from the post-COVID outpatient clinic of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Cologne University Hospital. Assessments included observer-rated evaluations, neuropsychological testing, and psychopathological examinations. Data from 41 patients were analyzed and compared with normative data from healthy controls reported in the literature.

Results: Between April and November 2022, 42 patients attended the PPCO-clinic, with 41 included in the analysis (58.5% female; mean age: 45 years). Patients exhibited significantly poorer performance across all neuropsychological tests compared to healthy controls, with pronounced deficits in visual memory, phonematic fluency, visuomotor function, and global cognitive screening. Additionally, they reported significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and reduced quality of life. Personality assessments revealed increased neuroticism and lower extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive neuropsychological and psychopathological assessments in individuals with PCS-particularly in cases where symptoms persist beyond the scope of routine primary care-to ensure accurate evaluation and effective management.

Keywords: Anxiety; Cognition; Depression; Neuropsychology; Post-COVID outpatient clinic; Post-COVID syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Ethical approval and consent to participate: This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the ethics committee of the University Hospital Cologne (UHC) reference number: 20-1187_1. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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