ArticlePsychotherapy and psychosomatics2026
Perceived Chronic Stress prior to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Predicts Ongoing Symptomatic COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Article in Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- COVID-19 Infection Is Associated With Higher Stress in Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples: Results From a Cross-Sectional Survey.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Bias in hair cortisol measures for psychological stress: Self vs. professional collection.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
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Abstract
<p>Introduction: Understanding chronic stress as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 progression could inform public health measures and personalized preventive interventions. Therefore, we investigated the influence of chronic stress prior to SARS-CoV-2 infection on symptom persistence 1 month after COVID-19 onset.
methodsThe participants of this prospective cohort study named "StressLoC" were adults with COVID-19 who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection within the last 7 days. Pre-existing perceived chronic stress assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) was the primary predictor. The number of stressful life events and hair cortisol concentration served as additional measures of pre-existing chronic stress. The main outcome was examined using the Long COVID Symptom and Impact Tool. It was defined as the presence of any new and impactful COVID-19-related symptom at month 1 after inclusion. Accordingly, participants were assigned to either the ongoing symptomatic COVID-19 group (OSC-G) or control group.
resultsThe study cohort comprised 288 participants (73.3% female), with a median age of 46 years (IQR 35-56). A total of 210 participants (72.9%) were categorized as OSC-G. Multivariate logistic regression showed that allocation to OSC-G was predicted by perceived chronic stress in the month prior to COVID-19 (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.14; p = 0.002) and the number of pre-existing symptoms (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.13; p = 0.001). The number of stressful life events and hair cortisol concentration did not predict OSC-G allocation.
conclusionsResults suggest that higher levels of pre-existing perceived chronic stress increase the odds of developing ongoing symptomatic COVID-19. </p>.
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