COVID-19 and Fear, Which Comes First?
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Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancements in Multiplex Detection of Respiratory Viruses
Published on: November 10, 2023
Monir Shayestefar1, Amir-Hossein Memari, Amin Nakhostin-Ansari
1Cellular and Molecular Research Center, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Today people have a few unanswered questions in their mind, such as "Do negative emotions will co-survive with the COVID-19 pandemic? Which one is worse? Which one will disappear quicker? Is there any connection between negative emotions and being infected by COVID-19 or the severity of infected individuals' symptoms? How are we supposed to live with COVID-19 and adapt our emotional system to the virus for more than one upcoming year?" These uncertainties could result in massive pressure on people. While there is no clear consensus regarding what establishes psychological stress on an individual, the effect of negative affect and psychological stress on increased susceptibility to disease due to altered immune functions is well established. Here we are going through the possible effect of emotions associated with the present pandemic on COVID-19 course of disease and severity of symptoms.
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