Evidence mapPaperPMID 42432672Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2026

Symptom-based clusters in people with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).

Charlotte Kuczyk, Christoph Herrmann-Lingen, Maike Stolz, Christian Krauth, Birte Burger, Jona Theodor Stahmeyer, Mariel Nöhre, Aline Debener, Christopher Käufer, Franziska Richter and 3 more

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Article in Journal of translational medicine, 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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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Charlotte KuczykDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. Kuczyk.charlotte@mh-hannover.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-5978-1029
Christoph Herrmann-LingenDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Maike StolzInstitute for Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Christian KrauthInstitute for Epidemiology, Social Medicine and Health Systems Research, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Birte BurgerHealth Services Research Unit, AOK Niedersachsen, Hannover, Germany.
Jona Theodor StahmeyerHealth Services Research Unit, AOK Niedersachsen, Hannover, Germany.
Mariel NöhreDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Aline DebenerDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Christopher KäuferDepartment of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Franziska RichterDepartment of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
Carlotta DeradDepartment of Medical Statistics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Martin HellmichDepartment of Medical Statistics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Martina de ZwaanDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIdentifying symptom clusters in post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) is a necessary step toward for developing more targeted therapeutic interventions for this heterogeneous condition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify symptom clusters based on 14 specific PCC symptoms, accounting for both symptom presence and impairment. The identified clusters were then compared with respect to sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors.

methodsA clinical sample of individuals with a PCC diagnosis lasting at least one year was included (final n = 1673). A two-step cluster analysis was performed to identify symptom clusters. Subsequent comparisons between clusters were performed using Mann-Whitney U tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables.

resultsA total of four clusters were identified: two symptom burden clusters (Systemic (high burden) and Few Symptoms (low burden)) and two symptom-specific clusters (Neurocognitive and Pain). Participants in the Systemic (high burden) cluster exhibited the highest levels of psychological distress, reported the most severe fatigue, and were most frequently unemployed.

conclusionIn PCC, different symptom clusters can be identified that differ in terms of sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors. Future research using biomarker, imaging, and longitudinal designs is needed to determine whether these symptom-based clusters correspond to distinct biological subgroups.

Indexed as

COVID-19AdultAgedCluster AnalysisClustering AlgorithmsFatigueFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSARS-CoV-2Symptom BurdenClustersCOVID-19Post COVID − 19 conditionSymptoms

Identifiers

PMID42432672
PMCPMC13362145

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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 Socratic graph.