Neuropsychiatric manifestations of Long COVID in India: a persistent problem 2.5 years after disease onset.

Background: Long COVID, also called post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), is a multi-system syndrome affecting millions of people worldwide. Neuropsychiatric manifestations of Long COVID are particularly debilitating; however, they have not been reported in detail from India. Methods: This cross-sectional study compared the demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and neuropsychiatric profiles of patients with Long COVID symptoms that began within 3 months of the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection and persisted for approximately 2.5 years at the time of evaluation. The study was conducted at NIMS University (Jaipur, Rajasthan, India). Results: Of 1,085 participants, 521 had COVID-19 pneumonia requiring hospitalization, while 564 had a mild initial respiratory presentation and were never hospitalized. On average 2.5 years after acute infection, our principal finding is that Long COVID differs based on initial disease severity. Post-hospitalization patients were older than the non-hospitalized group (43.24 vs. 36.15 years; Conclusion: Our study highlights differences in demographics and clinical presentation of Long COVID between post-hospitalization and non-hospitalized individuals in India. The high frequency of neurologic manifestations 2.5 years after disease onset underscores the need for early detection and targeted interventions.