Impacts of Post-Covid Condition (PCC) in Sweden: a cross-sectional observational survey study

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic left many people with persistent health problems following a COVID-19 infection. Research on the condition better known as Post-Covid Condition (PCC) is still inconclusive, and few evidence-based treatments are currently available, although several studies report promising results. There are however people in need of treatment and support. METHODS: To better understand what such help might entail, we conducted an online-based survey (n = 629, 82.6% women) to examine the impact of PCC in Sweden and explore relationships among various variables using correlation analysis. Swedish-speaking adults with at least one persisting health problem after COVID-19 were included in the study. The survey included demographic and psychosocial variables, historic COVID-19 data, other clinical measures of psychological distress, satisfaction with life, and daily functioning impairment. RESULTS: Results indicate a substantial and heterogeneous impact of PCC in this sample. Participants reported an average of 10.70 (SD = 5.62) symptoms with the most frequently reported being fatigue (90.9%, n = 507) and cognitive deficits (73.3%, n = 409). The highest average symptom burden scores were reported for post-exertional malaise (PEM; M = 8.37, SD = 1.70) and fatigue (M = 8.22, SD = 1.77). Medication, self-help advice, and physiotherapy were the most frequently reported treatment modalities. Most participants reported their problems being unchanged or improved after treatment, but there were reports of worsening as well. Regarding psychological distress, participants reported mild anxiety, moderate depression, and subclinical but notable levels of sleeping problems. On average, daily functioning was substantially impaired by PCC and participants reported being "somewhat dissatisfied with life". The correlational analyses revealed several significant correlations (|r| = 0.11-0.93, p < .01), with strongest relationships between the clinical variables. CONCLUSIONS: While this study aimed to measure impacts of PCC in many different areas of life, it holds some limitations, and there are many questions remaining. We present several recommendations for methodology and future research topics. Identifying modifiable variables that can be used in developing a treatment is naturally a next step. Based on empiric evidence from similar conditions, psychological flexibility (PF) may be a promising one.