Instruct: Identify the main category of Medrxiv papers based on the titles and abstracts
Query: Acute and longer-term psychological distress associated with testing positive for COVID-19: longitudinal evidence from a population-based study of US adults BackgroundThe novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has produced a considerable public health burden but the impact that contracting the disease has on mental health is unclear. In this observational population-based cohort study, we examined longitudinal changes in psychological distress associated with testing positive for COVID-19.

MethodsParticipants (N = 8,002; Observations = 139,035) were drawn from 23 waves of the Understanding America Study, a nationally representative survey of American adults followed-up every two weeks from April 1 2020 to February 15 2021. Psychological distress was assessed using the standardized total score on the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4).

ResultsOver the course of the study 576 participants reported testing positive for COVID-19. Using regression analysis including individual and time fixed effects we found that psychological distress increased by 0.29 standard deviations (p <.001) during the two-week period when participants first tested positive for COVID-19. Distress levels remained significantly elevated (d = 0.16, p <.01) for a further two weeks, before returning to baseline levels. Coronavirus symptom severity explained changes in distress attributable to COVID-19, whereby distress was more pronounced among those whose symptoms were more severe and were slower to subside.

ConclusionsThis study indicates that testing positive for COVID-19 is associated with an initial increase in psychological distress that diminishes quickly as symptoms subside. While COVID-19 may not produce lasting psychological distress among the majority of the general population it remains possible that a minority may suffer longer-term mental health consequences.
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The categories of this paper are: radiology
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The categories of this paper are: oncology
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The categories of this paper are: pediatrics
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The categories of this paper are: gynecology
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The categories of this paper are: oral
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The categories of this paper are: genomic
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The categories of this paper are: hiv
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The categories of this paper are: allergy
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The categories of this paper are: imaging
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The categories of this paper are: hematology
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The categories of this paper are: economics
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The categories of this paper are: dentistry
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The categories of this paper are: geriatric
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The categories of this paper are: rheumatology
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The categories of this paper are: global
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The categories of this paper are: systems