ArticleEuropean journal of public health2026
Understanding the role of psychological factors in long COVID: a network analysis approach.
Article in European journal of public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Long COVID (LC) is a heterogeneous, multisystem condition that persists beyond the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Psychological symptoms are highly prevalent and may influence the course and severity of LC. However, their specific role within the broader symptom structure remains insufficiently understood. This study applied a psychological network approach to examine how psychological factors contribute to the overall symptom structure of LC and to identify central and bridging variables that may serve as promising targets for intervention. A sample of 283 individuals with LC (nfemale = 235, nmale = 47, ndiverse = 1; age: M = 39.48, SD = 13.29) completed an online survey assessing post-viral physical symptoms and psychological factors, including depression, anxiety, COVID-19-related traumatic stress, and lack of self-efficacy. A regularized partial correlation network was estimated based on ten variables. The network revealed a dense degree of connectivity, with psychological factors integrated into the broader symptom structure. Depression emerged as the most central variable. Cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms, neurological symptoms, and depression served as key bridge variables. Lack of self-efficacy showed moderate associations with COVID-19-related traumatic stress and anxiety. Female gender was linked to greater gastrointestinal symptom burden, while older age was associated with more pronounced cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms. This study underscores the central role of psychological factors-particularly depression-as key targets for intervention in LC. By advancing the understanding of factors shaping health outcomes in LC, our findings support the integration of psychological approaches into the clinical management of affected individuals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.