Observational studyBMC medicine2025
"Have you considered that it could be burnout?"-psychologization and stigmatization of self-reported long COVID or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome.
Observational study in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- [The importance of psychiatry in the care and research of Post-COVID].Der Nervenarzt · 2026Review
- Medical invalidation is associated with structural barriers in postacute immune mediated syndromes based on patient perspectives in Germany.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- What is the Role of "the Psyche"? Long COVID and ME/CFS as Test Cases for Evidence-Based and Patient-Centered Psychiatry and Psychotherapy.Psychiatrische Praxis · 2026Review
- Excess primary healthcare consultations in Norway in 2024 compared to pre-COVID-19-pandemic baseline trends.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Article
- Commentary: Internal medicine at the crossroads of long COVID diagnosis and management.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species: A Unifying Mechanism in Long COVID and Spike Protein-Associated Injury: A Narrative Review.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Complex chronic adverse events following immunization: a systemic critique and reform proposal for vaccine pharmacovigilance.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPeople reporting long COVID (LC) or post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PCVS) not only suffer from their symptoms but also from stigmatization. Despite ample account and characterization of stigma experiences so far, its mechanisms and consequences on health outcomes, and particularly the role of "psychologization" remain unclear.
methodsIn a cross-sectional observational study, we examined a large convenience sample of adults who report having LC or PCVS. We translated and adapted the "Long Covid Stigma Scale" to measure stigmatization. We measured generally perceived and personally experienced psychologization with newly developed scales/items. Outcome measures included disclosure concerns, loss of trust in medicine, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and loneliness. We calculated overall prevalences of stigma and psychologization and their correlations with the outcomes. Using mediation analysis with SEM, we tested the hypothesis that psychologization of LC and PCVS syndromes causes harm by increasing stigmatization.
resultsAltogether, N = 2053 individuals (68% reporting LC, 32% reporting PCVS) were included in the analyses. The overall prevalences of stigma experiences were high: 83% of those reporting LC and 90% of those reporting PCVS experienced stigma. Prevalences of perceived psychologization (LC: 87%, PCVS: 91%) and experienced psychologization (LC: 82%, PCVS: 87%) were similarly high. Both stigmatization and psychologization were positively correlated with disclosure concerns, loss of trust in medicine, depression, anxiety, and loneliness as well as negatively correlated with life satisfaction and self-esteem. Mediation analysis indicated that stigmatization mediated a relevant proportion of the relationship between psychologization and negative outcomes.
conclusionsPeople reporting LC or PCVS are subject to stigmatization and psychologization. From a patient perspective, psychologization appears to be an important driver of stigmatization and negative outcomes.
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Registered trials
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