Czaplicki Andreas, Hipper Leonie, Hegerl Ulrich
German Foundation for Depression and Suicide Prevention, Leipzig, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt (Goethe Research Professorship), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Front Public Health. 2025 Aug 4;13:1623757. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1623757. eCollection 2025.
Mental symptoms such as fatigue, concentration difficulties, and sleep disorders are frequently reported in both Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) and Post-COVID-19 Vaccination Syndrome (PCVS). Although symptom profiles may overlap, comparative epidemiological data from the general population are limited.
We conducted a representative online survey of 4,632 adults in Germany and investigated mental symptoms associated with PCS and PCVS, including fatigue, cognitive problems, sleep disturbances, impaired performance and depressed mood. Socio-demographic factors, vaccination status, vaccine type and number of vaccinations were analysed.
The prevalence of self-reported mental symptoms of PCS was 12.1% among respondents, with women and younger individuals more commonly affected. The prevalence of self-reported PCVS was 12.6% among vaccinated individuals, with no significant gender differences, but fewer cognitive symptoms in older adults. Respondents with only one vaccination reported the highest rate of PCVS symptoms (20.8%), which decreased to 8.9% for those with four or more vaccinations. Differences between vaccine types were small overall, but non-mRNA vaccines were associated with a slightly higher rate of sleep and concentration problems.
Mental symptoms are relatively common after both SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination and show overlap, especially fatigue. These findings highlight how difficult it is to distinguish PCS from PCVS and emphasize the need to consider alternative explanations, such as undiagnosed depressive disorders, in clinical assessments.
疲劳、注意力不集中和睡眠障碍等精神症状在新冠后综合征（PCS）和新冠疫苗接种后综合征（PCVS）中均经常被报告。尽管症状表现可能重叠，但来自普通人群的比较流行病学数据有限。
我们对德国4632名成年人进行了一项具有代表性的在线调查，调查与PCS和PCVS相关的精神症状，包括疲劳、认知问题、睡眠障碍、表现受损和情绪低落。分析了社会人口学因素、疫苗接种状况、疫苗类型和接种次数。
在受访者中，自我报告的PCS精神症状患病率为12.1%，女性和年轻人受影响更为常见。在接种疫苗的个体中，自我报告的PCVS患病率为12.6%，无显著性别差异，但老年人的认知症状较少。仅接种一剂疫苗的受访者报告的PCVS症状发生率最高（20.8%），接种四剂或更多剂疫苗的受访者这一比例降至8.9%。总体而言，不同疫苗类型之间的差异较小，但非mRNA疫苗与睡眠和注意力问题的发生率略高有关。
SARS-CoV-2感染和接种疫苗后精神症状都相对常见，且存在重叠，尤其是疲劳。这些发现凸显了区分PCS和PCVS的难度，并强调在临床评估中需要考虑其他解释，如未确诊的抑郁症。
