ArticleBMJ open2022
'I can't cope with multiple inputs': a qualitative study of the lived experience of 'brain fog' after COVID-19.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and long-term outcomes of brain fog and cognitive impairment in individuals with long COVID: A systematic review.Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Patient and Professional Perspectives on Long COVID: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Psychosocial Aspects of the Lived Experience of Long COVID: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Pooled it
- Subjective Cognitive Dysfunction in Chronic Illness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis.Western journal of nursing research · 2024Pooled it
- Living with "long COVID": A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Personalisation at the Core of Success: Process Evaluation of the LISTEN Randomised Controlled Trial Evaluating a Personalised Self-Management Support Intervention for People Living With Long Covid.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Trial
- Longitudinal Evaluation of an Integrated Post-COVID-19/Long COVID Management Program Consisting of Digital Interventions and Personal Support: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Trial
- Impact of Adjunct Testosterone on Cancer-Related Fatigue: An Ancillary Analysis from a Controlled Randomized Trial.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2022Trial
- Adaptation and Translation of the Brain Fog Scale into the Indian Psycho-Socio-Cultural Context.Annals of neurosciences · 2026Article
- Somatosensory processing in long COVID fatigue and its relations with physiological and psychological factors.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Neuroinflammation-associated thalamocortical functional connectivity and cognition in older adults.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2026Article
- Symptom, Functional, and Work Participation Profiles Among Racialized Canadians with Pre-Existing Mental Health Challenges and Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- LearningRx Cognitive Training for Workplace Self-Efficacy in Adults with Post-COVID-19 Brain Fog: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- A qualitative analysis of lived experiences, mental health treatment needs, and psychotherapeutic applications among veterans with long COVID.Psychological services · 2026Article
- Submaximal 2-day cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess exercise capacity and post-exertional symptom exacerbation in people with long COVID.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- How do fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, activity and role functioning, and mental health inter-relate in adults with post-COVID-19 syndrome? A structural equation model analysis.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Virtual Pet-Assisted Therapy to Alleviate Symptoms of Long COVID: A Prospective Pilot Interventional Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025Article
- Long COVID in healthcare workers: longitudinal mixed-methods study.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Article
- Interrelationship of brain fog, pain, and psychological distress with quality of life of Veterans with painful symptoms.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2025Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore the lived experience of 'brain fog'-the wide variety of neurocognitive symptoms that can follow COVID-19. DESIGN AND
settingA UK-wide longitudinal qualitative study comprising online focus groups with email follow-up.
method50 participants were recruited from a previous qualitative study of the lived experience of long COVID-19 (n=23) and online support groups for people with persistent neurocognitive symptoms following COVID-19 (n=27). In remotely held focus groups, participants were invited to describe their neurocognitive symptoms and comment on others' accounts. Individuals were followed up by email 4-6 months later. Data were audiotaped, transcribed, anonymised and coded in NVIVO. They were analysed by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in general practice, clinical neuroscience, the sociology of chronic illness and service delivery, and checked by people with lived experience of brain fog.
resultsOf the 50 participants, 42 were female and 32 white British. Most had never been hospitalised for COVID-19. Qualitative analysis revealed the following themes: mixed views on the appropriateness of the term 'brain fog'; rich descriptions of the experience of neurocognitive symptoms (especially executive function, attention, memory and language), accounts of how the illness fluctuated-and progressed over time; the profound psychosocial impact of the condition on relationships, personal and professional identity; self-perceptions of guilt, shame and stigma; strategies used for self-management; challenges accessing and navigating the healthcare system; and participants' search for physical mechanisms to explain their symptoms.
conclusionThese qualitative findings complement research into the epidemiology and mechanisms of neurocognitive symptoms after COVID-19. Services for such patients should include: an ongoing therapeutic relationship with a clinician who engages with their experience of neurocognitive symptoms in its personal, social and occupational context as well as specialist services that include provision for neurocognitive symptoms, are accessible, easily navigable, comprehensive and interdisciplinary.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.