Neurodivergence as a Risk Factor for Post-COVID-19 Syndrome

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Raw, R. K., Rees, J., Pearson, A., & Chadwick, D. R. (2025). Neurodivergence as a Risk Factor for Post-COVID-19 Syndrome. COVID, 6(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid6010001

Publication date: 19 Dec 2025 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
4
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 4 (25.0%)
  1. Rachael K. Raw
  2. Jon Rees
  3. Amy Pearson *
  4. David R. Chadwick

Abstract

Objectives: Neurodivergent (ND) individuals (e.g., autistic people) are more likely to experience health problems that are characterised by ‘Central Sensitisation’ (CS). Recent research suggests that a so-called ‘Long-COVID’ syndrome might also be explained by a heightened response to internal physiological stimuli, much like in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The primary objective of this study was to establish whether individuals who scored highly on a measure of CS would be more likely to experience long-term symptoms of COVID-19. A secondary aim considered if having a Type D personality was also linked to ongoing COVID-19 symptoms. Method: Using a standardised assessment tool, we examined whether traits associated with autism would predict long-term COVID-19 symptoms in 267 Healthcare Workers (HCWs). We also used a measure of Type D personality to establish if negative affect and social inhibition were related to Long-COVID. Results: A higher number of autistic traits predicted COVID-19 symptoms that lasted more than 12 weeks regardless of formal autism diagnosis. A personality measure also showed that negative affect was associated with experiencing COVID-19 symptoms for 4–12 weeks, though the direction of causality in this case is uncertain. Conclusions: Our main findings were (i) more HCWs scored above threshold for neurodivergence than those who were self-declared as having been diagnosed as neurodivergent; (ii) while there was no association between long-term COVID-19 and self-declared neurodivergent status, scores for the ‘sensory reactivity’ item of a standardised autism scale was predictive of COVID-19 symptoms lasting beyond 12 weeks post-infection; and (iii) HCWs with Type D Personality were not more likely to experience long-term COVID-19.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 13:58.

Cited references
15
With a DOI
13
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
2
1 / 15 (6.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 15 (6.7%)
References with detected author names
14 / 15 (93.3%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
2
References with raw author names still to review
1
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
91
From DOI or external metadata
91
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
1
18 / 91 (19.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 73 / 91 (80.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
1 / 91 (1.1%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 1 / 18 (5.6%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 77 (1.3%).
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    Crossref OpenAlex
  8. Rachael K. Raw , Jon Rees , Clive Kelly , Caroline Wroe , David R. Chadwick (2022). Prior COVID-19 infection is associated with increased Adverse Events (AEs) after the first, but not the second, dose of the BNT162b2/Pfizer vaccine . Vaccine, 40(3), 418-423. Elsevier BV.
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    Crossref OpenAlex
  10. Rachael K. Raw , Clive Kelly , Jon Rees , Caroline Wroe , David R. Chadwick (2021). Previous COVID-19 infection, but not Long-COVID, is associated with increased adverse events following BNT162b2/Pfizer vaccination . Journal of Infection, 83(3), 381-412. Elsevier BV.
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  11. Shin Jie Yong (2021). Long COVID or post-COVID-19 syndrome: putative pathophysiology, risk factors, and treatments . Infectious Diseases, 53(10), 737-754. Informa UK Limited.
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  12. Rachael K. Raw , Jon Rees , David R. Chadwick (2023). Increased adverse events following third dose of BNT162b2/Pfizer vaccine in those with previous COVID-19, but not with concurrent influenza vaccine . PLOS Global Public Health, 3(2), e0001053. Public Library of Science (PLoS).
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