High psychological distress, including anxiety, worry and depression, before SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a risk factor for developing post-COVID-19 symptoms, a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry found.
According to Siwen Wang, MD, a researcher in the department of nutrition at Harvard University, and colleagues, “sustained psychological distress may cause activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and subsequent immune dysregulation.”
“Other common manifestations of distress, such as loneliness and perceived stress, which have increased during the pandemic,