Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42163972›Full record

ArticleEClinicalMedicine2026

The role of genetic liability for psychiatric disorders and personality traits in post covid syndrome: data from three Nordic population cohorts.

Liam Quinn, Ida Henriette Caspersen, Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir, Yue Wang, Mischa Lundberg, Jesper Gådin, Kadri Kõiv, Anna Bára Unnarsdóttir, Arna Hauksdóttir, Bitten Aagaard and 29 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

39 authors.

Liam QuinnDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Ida Henriette CaspersenCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Ingibjörg MagnúsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Yue WangCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Mischa LundbergInstitute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jesper GådinInstitute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kadri KõivEstonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia.
Anna Bára UnnarsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Arna HauksdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Bitten AagaardDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
Bjarke FeenstraDepartment of Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christian ErikstrupDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Christina MikkelsenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
DBDS Genetic Consortium
Dorte HeleniusInstitute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Edda Bjork ThordardottirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Elzabeth C CorfieldPopulation Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Erik SørensenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Frank GellerDepartment of Congenital Disorders, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jakob Thaning BayDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Jóhanna JakobsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Johanne Hagen PettersenPsychGen Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Kelli LehtoEstonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Estonia.
Khoa Manh DinhDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kristjana H ÁsbjörnsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Lill TrogstadDepartment of Method Development and Analysis, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Maria DidriksenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mie Topholm BruunDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
Ole AndreassenCentre for Precision Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Per MagnusCentre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Ragnhild Eek BrandlistuenDepartment of Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Sisse Rye OstrowskiDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Søren BrunakNovo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thomas WergeInstitute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Services, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thor AspelundCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Helga AskPsychGen Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
Unnur Anna ValdimarsdóttirCentre of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
Ole Birger Vesterager PedersenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.
Lea Arregui Nordahl ChristoffersenDepartment of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) remains a substantial public health concern, yet its genetic determinants are poorly understood. Psychiatric disorders and related traits influence infection risk and acute COVID-19 outcomes, raising the possibility that shared genetic liability may also shape long-term symptom persistence. We examined whether polygenic scores (PGS) for schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BPD), major depressive disorder (MDD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and neuroticism are associated with PCS, and explored potential pathways underlying these associations. Methods: We analysed three population-based cohorts from Denmark, Norway and Iceland (total n = 80,726; PCS cases = 6103) between March 2020 and June 2022. PCS was defined as COVID-19-related symptoms lasting ≥3 months. Logistic regression models estimated associations between standardised PGS and PCS among COVID-19 positive individuals, adjusting for ancestry principal components. Additional analyses assessed associations with COVID-19 infection. In a subset with available personality data, models were additionally adjusted for measured Neuroticism (NEO-FFI). Supplementary analyses examined associations between PGS and COVID-19 infection risk, and we conducted LD score regression (LDSC) and proteomic analyses as contextual genetic and biological characterisations of the PGS traits. Findings: Higher PGS for neuroticism, MDD and ADHD were consistently associated with increased odds of PCS across all cohorts (ORs per SD: ∼1.07-1.16). Quintile analyses showed a graded pattern, with the highest PGS quintile displaying 30-45% higher odds of PCS than the lowest. PGS for SCZ and BPD showed no evidence of association with PCS. PGS associations with COVID-19 infection were weaker and inconsistent. In the subset with available personality data, these associations remained essentially unchanged after adjusting for measured Neuroticism, indicating that they are not solely attributable to observed personality differences. LDSC and proteomic analyses did not alter the primary interpretation of the PGS-PCS associations. Interpretation: Polygenic liability for neuroticism, MDD, and ADHD is associated with increased risk of PCS across three national cohorts. This pattern is consistent with shared symptom-related liability contributing to these associations, although the data do not allow differentiation between post-viral sequelae and pre-existing symptom liability. While PGS explain only a modest proportion of PCS variance, they provide useful insight into underlying psychiatric and personality-related factors associated with persistent symptom reporting following COVID-19 infection. Funding: The study was funded by EU Horizon REACT study (101057129), environMENTAL study (101057429), Nordforsk (project numbers 105668 and 138929), and the Independent Research Fund Denmark (0214-00127B).

Indexed as

Genetic scoresPost covid syndromePsychiatric disordersRisk profiles

Identifiers

PMID42163972
PMCPMC13185856

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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.