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1. Profiles of cybersickness symptoms

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.displa.2024.102853  

   Kelly, Jonathan W; Hayes, Nicole L; Doty, Taylor A; Gilbert, Stephen B; Dorneich, Michael C (December 2024, Displays)

   Cybersickness – discomfort caused by virtual reality (VR) – remains a significant problem that negatively affects the user experience. Research on individual differences in cybersickness has typically focused on overall sickness intensity, but a detailed understanding should include whether individuals differ in the relative intensity of cybersickness symptoms. This study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to explore whether there exist groups of individuals who experience common patterns of cybersickness symptoms. Participants played a VR game for up to 20 min. LPA indicated three groups with low, medium, and high overall cybersickness. Further, there were similarities and differences in relative patterns of nausea, disorientation, and oculomotor symptoms between groups. Disorientation was lower than nausea and oculomotor symptoms for all three groups. Nausea and oculomotor were experienced at similar levels within the high and low sickness groups, but the medium sickness group experienced more nausea than oculomotor. Characteristics of group members varied across groups, including gender, virtual reality experience, video game experience, and history of motion sickness. These findings identify distinct individual experiences in symptomology that go beyond overall sickness intensity, which could enable future interventions that target certain groups of individuals and specific symptoms. 

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2. Depressive symptoms and conspiracy beliefs

   https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.4011  

   Green, Jon; Druckman, James N.; Baum, Matthew A.; Lazer, David; Ognyanova, Katherine; Perlis, Roy H. (November 2022, Applied Cognitive Psychology)

   Abstract Conspiratorial beliefs can endanger individuals and societies by increasing the likelihood of harmful behaviors such as the flouting of public health guidelines. While scholars have identified various correlates of conspiracy beliefs, one factor that has received scant attention is depressive symptoms. We use three large surveys to explore the connection between depression and conspiracy beliefs. We find a consistent association, with the extent of the relationship depending on individual and situational factors. Interestingly, those from relatively advantaged demographic groups (i.e., White, male, high income, educated) exhibit a stronger relationship between depression and conspiracy beliefs than those not from such groups. Furthermore, situational variables that ostensibly increase stress—such as having COVID‐19 or parenting during COVID‐19—exacerbate the relationship while those that seem to decrease stress, such as social support, vitiate it. The results provide insight about the development of targeted interventions and accentuate the need for theorizing about the mechanisms that lead depression to correlate with conspiracy beliefs. 

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3. Association of Post–COVID-19 Condition Symptoms and Employment Status

   https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.56152  

   Perlis, Roy H.; Lunz Trujillo, Kristin; Safarpour, Alauna; Santillana, Mauricio; Ognyanova, Katherine; Druckman, James; Lazer, David (February 2023, JAMA Network Open)

   ImportanceLittle is known about the functional correlates of post–COVID-19 condition (PCC), also known as long COVID, particularly the relevance of neurocognitive symptoms. ObjectiveTo characterize prevalence of unemployment among individuals who did, or did not, develop PCC after acute infection. Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis survey study used data from 8 waves of a 50-state US nonprobability internet population-based survey of respondents aged 18 to 69 years conducted between February 2021 and July 2022. Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcomes were self-reported current employment status and the presence of PCC, defined as report of continued symptoms at least 2 months beyond initial month of symptoms confirmed by a positive COVID-19 test. ResultsThe cohort included 15 308 survey respondents with test-confirmed COVID-19 at least 2 months prior, of whom 2236 (14.6%) reported PCC symptoms, including 1027 of 2236 (45.9%) reporting either brain fog or impaired memory. The mean (SD) age was 38.8 (13.5) years; 9679 respondents (63.2%) identified as women and 10 720 (70.0%) were White. Overall, 1418 of 15 308 respondents (9.3%) reported being unemployed, including 276 of 2236 (12.3%) of those with PCC and 1142 of 13 071 (8.7%) of those without PCC; 8229 respondents (53.8%) worked full-time, including 1017 (45.5%) of those with PCC and 7212 (55.2%) without PCC. In survey-weighted regression models excluding retired respondents, the presence of PCC was associated with a lower likelihood of working full-time (odds ratio [OR], 0.71 [95% CI, 0.63-0.80]; adjusted OR, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.74-0.96]) and with a higher likelihood of being unemployed (OR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.22-1.73]; adjusted OR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.02-1.48]). The presence of any cognitive symptom was associated with lower likelihood of working full time (OR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.56-0.88]; adjusted OR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.59-0.84]). Conclusions and RelevancePCC was associated with a greater likelihood of unemployment and lesser likelihood of working full time in adjusted models. The presence of cognitive symptoms was associated with diminished likelihood of working full time. These results underscore the importance of developing strategies to treat and manage PCC symptoms. 

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4. Prevalence and Correlates of Long COVID Symptoms Among US Adults

   https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.38804  

   Perlis, Roy H.; Santillana, Mauricio; Ognyanova, Katherine; Safarpour, Alauna; Lunz Trujillo, Kristin; Simonson, Matthew D.; Green, Jon; Quintana, Alexi; Druckman, James; Baum, Matthew A.; et al (October 2022, JAMA Network Open)

   ImportancePersistence of COVID-19 symptoms beyond 2 months, or long COVID, is increasingly recognized as a common sequela of acute infection. ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of and sociodemographic factors associated with long COVID and to identify whether the predominant variant at the time of infection and prior vaccination status are associated with differential risk. Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study comprised 8 waves of a nonprobability internet survey conducted between February 5, 2021, and July 6, 2022, among individuals aged 18 years or older, inclusive of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Main Outcomes and MeasuresLong COVID, defined as reporting continued COVID-19 symptoms beyond 2 months after the initial month of symptoms, among individuals with self-reported positive results of a polymerase chain reaction test or antigen test. ResultsThe 16 091 survey respondents reporting test-confirmed COVID-19 illness at least 2 months prior had a mean age of 40.5 (15.2) years; 10 075 (62.6%) were women, and 6016 (37.4%) were men; 817 (5.1%) were Asian, 1826 (11.3%) were Black, 1546 (9.6%) were Hispanic, and 11 425 (71.0%) were White. From this cohort, 2359 individuals (14.7%) reported continued COVID-19 symptoms more than 2 months after acute illness. Reweighted to reflect national sociodemographic distributions, these individuals represented 13.9% of those who had tested positive for COVID-19, or 1.7% of US adults. In logistic regression models, older age per decade above 40 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.19) and female gender (adjusted OR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.73-2.13) were associated with greater risk of persistence of long COVID; individuals with a graduate education vs high school or less (adjusted OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.56-0.79) and urban vs rural residence (adjusted OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64-0.86) were less likely to report persistence of long COVID. Compared with ancestral COVID-19, infection during periods when the Epsilon variant (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.69-0.95) or the Omicron variant (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.64-0.92) predominated in the US was associated with diminished likelihood of long COVID. Completion of the primary vaccine series prior to acute illness was associated with diminished risk for long COVID (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.60-0.86). Conclusions and RelevanceThis study suggests that long COVID is prevalent and associated with female gender and older age, while risk may be diminished by completion of primary vaccination series prior to infection. 

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5. Prevalence of Firearm Ownership Among Individuals With Major Depressive Symptoms

   https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.3245  

   Perlis, Roy H.; Simonson, Matthew D.; Green, Jon; Lin, Jennifer; Safarpour, Alauna; Lunz Trujillo, Kristin; Quintana, Alexi; Chwe, Hanyu; Della Volpe, John; Ognyanova, Katherine; et al (March 2022, JAMA Network Open)