Results of a recent observational study suggest a key role of stress in the time preceding the acute COVID-19 infection for the development of long COVID and particularly for difficulty with cognition. The study by a team of researchers from the Department of Behavioural Science and Health at the University College London,  point to the importance of mitigating worries and experiences of adversities during pandemics both to reduce their psychological impact but also help reduce the societal burden of longer-term illness. The researchers analysed data of 1,966 UK adults who had previously been infected with COVID-19 and who took part in the UCL COVID-19 Social Study and found that the number of worries about adversity experiences also corresponded with increased odds of certain long COVID symptoms such as difficulty with cognition, among others.