Perceived Chronic Stress prior to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Predicts Ongoing Symptomatic COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study

作者：Christian Fazekas, Nandu Goswami, Franziska Matzer, Alexander Avian, Julia Lodron, Marc Rijksen, Barbara Hanfstingl, Voyko Kavcic, Andrea Groselj‐Strele, Harald Sourij, Harald H. Kessler, Evelyn Stelzl, Clarissa D. Voegel, Tina M. Binz, Karin Schmid‐Zalaudek, Alexander Wittmann, Stefan Pilz · 发表于：Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1159/000547858 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Stress Responses and Cortisol、COVID-19 and Mental Health、Long-Term Effects of COVID-19

Introduction: Understanding chronic stress as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 progression could inform public health measures and personalized preventive interventions. Therefore, we investigated the influence of chronic stress prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection on symptom persistence 1 month after COVID-19 onset. METHODS: The participants of this prospective cohort study named "StressLoC" were adults with COVID-19 who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection within the last 7 days. Pre-existing perceived chronic stress assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was the primary predictor. The number of stressful life events and hair cortisol concentration served as additional measures of pre-existing chronic stress. The main outcome was examined using the Long COVID Symptom and Impact Tool. It was defined as the presence of any new and impactful COVID-19-related symptom at month 1 after inclusion. Accordingly, participants were assigned to either the ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 group (OSC-G) or control group. RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 288 participants (73.3% female), with a median age of 46 years (IQR 35-56). A total of 210 participants (72.9%) were categorized as OSC-G. Multivariate logistic regression showed that allocation to OSC-G was predicted by perceived chronic stress in the month prior to COVID-19 (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.14; p = 0.002) and the number of pre-existing symptoms (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.13; p = 0.001). The number of stressful life ...