Neurological and psychiatric aspects of long COVID among vaccinated healthcare workers: An assessment of prevalence and reporting biases

Abstract

Background: This study assessed the prevalence and severity of neurological and psychiatric long COVID symptoms among healthcare workers (HCWs) based on their COVID-19 status, aiming to unravel the complexities associated with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: A cohort of 467 HCWs from a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan, who received at least three doses of COVID-19 vaccines, were surveyed for long COVID symptoms. Participants were categorized into symptomatic (n = 224), asymptomatic (n = 21), and absence of COVID-19 (n = 222) groups based on diagnostic criteria involving questionnaire responses, medical records, and anti-nucleoprotein antibody data. Through a comprehensive set of questionnaires, symptoms, memory dysfunction, anxiety, and depression were rigorously evaluated and statistically analyzed for group comparisons. Results: Despite meticulous data collection, the study revealed no statistically significant differences in the severity of neurological and psychiatric long COVID symptoms across the COVID-19 status groups. Noteworthy trends were observed, including higher instances of memory problems worsening over time, elevated anxiety levels in symptomatic cases, and subtle indicators of increased depression severity in this subgroup. The findings underscored the multifactorial nature of long COVID manifestations and the impact of COVID-19 history on reported symptoms. Conclusion: The study highlighted potential biases in symptom reporting that may inflate long COVID prevalence estimates. While the robust methodology shed light on diverse health profiles among HCWs, future research should focus on longitudinal designs and objective diagnostic measures to provide more accurate assessments of long COVID's burden.