Mental symptoms in Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) and Post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PCVS): results of a representative population survey

Abstract Similarities between mental symptoms in Post-COVID syndrome (PCS) and those in Post-COVID-19 vaccination syndrome (PCVS) have been observed. Based on a representative survey of the population aged 18 to 69 years in Germany (n = 4,628), the epidemiologies of both PCS and PCVS were studied. Mental symptoms of PCS (fatigue/exhaustion/weakness, reduced performance, concentration and memory problems, sleep disorders and depressed mood) were reported by 12.1% and mental symptoms of PCVS were reported by 12.6% of all respondents. Concerning PCS, mental symptoms were reported more often by females compared to males (13.5% versus 10.7%), whereas no gender differences were found for PCVS. With the increasing number of booster vaccinations, mental PCVS decreased from 20.8% with one vaccination to 8.9% with four or more vaccinations. Overall, non-mRNA vaccines did not lead significantly to more mental symptoms than mRNA vaccines (12.9% versus 12.5%) but did differ concerning mental symptom patterns: concentration and memory problems (8.2% versus 3.3%), impaired performance (5.7% versus 4.2%) and sleep disorders (6.6% versus 3.2%) were reported more frequently in non-mRNA vaccines. The reported rate of mental PCVS being 12.6% is clearly higher than the 0.5% recorded by official documentation systems (Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI)), suggesting a major underreporting. The data indicate that mental symptoms occurring in both PCS and PCVS are common, making the differential diagnosis between PCS and PCVS, as well as between both PCS and PCVS and independent mental disorders such as depressive disorders, an important but challenging task.