Psychological interventions for individuals with long COVID: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Cristina Garriga-Salvó, Emiliano Navarro, Cristina Lidón-Moyano et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed psychological interventions for people with long COVID, focusing on symptoms and quality of life. Nineteen studies were included in the review and 14 in the meta-analysis, using random-effects synthesis. Interventions were associated with significant reductions in anxiety (SMD = -0.64; 95% CI: -1.18 to -0.10), depression (SMD = -0.41; 95% CI: -0.73 to -0.10) and fatigue (SMD = -1.37; 95% CI: -2.48 to -0.26). Significant improvement in quality of life was reported only for self-perceived health-related quality of life.
Key findings
- Anxiety symptoms decreased significantly with psychological interventions (SMD = -0.64; 95% CI: -1.18 to -0.10).
- Depression symptoms decreased significantly (SMD = -0.41; 95% CI: -0.73 to -0.10).
- Fatigue decreased significantly (SMD = -1.37; 95% CI: -2.48 to -0.26).
- Significant quality-of-life improvement was limited to self-perceived health-related quality of life (SMD = 7.59; 95% CI: 3.70-11.48).
Why it matters
Long COVID can affect multiple aspects of functioning, and persistent fatigue and psychological symptoms may contribute to substantial patient burden. The pooled findings suggest psychological interventions may help address anxiety, depression and fatigue, while evidence of quality-of-life benefit was narrower. These results support considering psychological care as one component of multidisciplinary recovery, while recognising that the review does not establish effects for every intervention or outcome.
What to keep in mind
The review included 19 studies, with only 14 contributing to meta-analysis; the abstract does not report further details on study quality or heterogeneity.