Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41706661›Full record

ArticlePloS one2026

Three-year functional, physical, and mental health outcomes after critical COVID-19: A prospective multicentre cohort study.

Ingrid Didriksson, Dorit Töniste, Malin Hultgren, Martin Spångfors, Sara Göbel Andertun, Maria Nelderup, Anton Reepalu, Attila Frigyesi, Hans Friberg, Gisela Lilja

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04974775 (Swecrit Biobank - Blood Samples From Critically Ill Patients and Healthy Controls), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04974775 active not recruitingnot on this map

Swecrit Biobank - Blood Samples From Critically Ill Patients and Healthy Controls

TypeobservationalSponsorSkane University HospitalRan2014 to 2026Enrolled8,500ConditionsCritical Illness, Cardiac Arrest, Sepsis, InfluenzaArmsBlood collection, Blood collection, serial sampling
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Ingrid DidrikssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1334-7583
Dorit TönisteDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Neurology, Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Malin HultgrenDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Martin SpångforsDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Sara Göbel AndertunDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden.
Maria NelderupDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden.
Anton ReepaluDepartment of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1690-8921
Attila FrigyesiDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Hans FribergDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Gisela LiljaDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Neurology, Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe understanding of recovery after critical COVID-19 beyond the first year is limited.

objectivesTo describe changes in functional, physical, and mental health outcomes between 1 and 3 years among survivors of critical COVID-19 and to identify factors associated with incomplete recovery at 3 years.

methodsA prospective multicentre cohort study of survivors of critical COVID-19 with follow-up at 1 and 3 years. The primary outcome was functional outcome, assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE), which ranges from 1 to 8, with scores of 6 or less indicating incomplete recovery. Secondary outcomes included return-to-work, physical and mental Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), life satisfaction, fatigue, psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder), and respiratory symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with incomplete recovery (GOSE ≤ 6) at 3 years.

resultsAmong 191 of 210 eligible participants, functional outcome declined from 1 to 3 years, and participants with incomplete recovery increased from 32% to 45%. Worse outcomes were observed in mental HRQoL, fatigue, depression, and post-traumatic stress, while return-to-work rates, physical HRQoL, life satisfaction, anxiety, and respiratory symptoms remained stable. Younger age [OR 0.70 (95% CI 0.54-0.91), p = 0.008] and higher Clinical Frailty Scale score [OR 1.54 (95% CI 1.04-2.28), p = 0.029] were independently associated with incomplete recovery at 3 years.

conclusionsSurvivors of critical COVID-19 experienced a decline in functional outcome and worsening mental health between 1 and 3 years after ICU admission. Younger and frail survivors may require increased attention and support.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04974775, registered April 28, 2020.

Indexed as

COVID-19Mental HealthAdultAgedAnxietyDepressionFatigueFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesQuality of LifeRecovery of FunctionReturn to WorkSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID41706661
PMCPMC12915914

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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.