Examining Well-Being and Cognitive Function in People With Long COVID and ME/CFS, and Age-Matched Healthy Controls: A Case-Case-Control Study

May 16, 2024The American journal of medicine

Well-Being and Thinking Abilities in People with Long COVID, ME/CFS, and Healthy Adults of the Same Age

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Abstract

People with long COVID (n = 17) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) (n = 24) reported worse well-being compared to age-matched healthy controls (n = 16).

Both groups of individuals demonstrated similar levels of impairment in well-being measures.
Self-reported values indicated increased pain, fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and poor sleep quality in long COVID and ME/CFS compared to healthy controls.
Participants with long COVID and ME/CFS experienced greater anxiety and depression than the control group.
Cognitive function measures did not show significant differences among the groups.

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BACKGROUND: Well-being and cognitive function had not previously been compared between people with long COVID and people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Therefore, this study examined well-being and cognitive function in people with long COVID (∼16 months illness duration; n = 17) and ME/CFS (∼16 years illness duration; n = 24), versus age-matched healthy controls (n = 16).

METHODS: Well-being was examined using several questionnaires, namely the Health Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), post-exertional malaise (PEM), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), European Quality of Life-5 Domains (EQ-5D), MRC Dyspnoea, Self-Efficacy (SELTC), The Edinburgh Neurosymptoms Questionnaire (ENS), General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). Cognitive function was examined using Single Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Stroop test and Trails A and B. These were delivered via a mobile application (app) built specifically for this remote data collection.

RESULTS: The main findings of the present investigation were that people with ME/CFS and people with long COVID were generally comparable on all well-being and cognitive function measures, but self-reported worse values for pain, fatigue, post-exertional malaise, sleep quality, general well-being in relation to mobility, usual activities, self-care, breathlessness, neurological symptoms, self-efficacy and other well-being such as anxiety and depression, compared to controls. There was no effect of group for cognitive function measures.

CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that both people with long COVID and people with ME/CFS have similar impairment on well-being measures examined herein. Therefore, interventions that target well-being of people with ME/CFS and long COVID are required.

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Examining Well-Being and Cognitive Function in People With Long COVID and ME/CFS, and Age-Matched Healthy Controls: A Case-Case-Control Study

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