Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Lyme Disease: A Literature Review of Psychiatric and Cognitive Impacts.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative literature review without systematic review methodology or meta-analysis
PubMed 40641539 · doi:10.15388/Amed.2025.32.1.17
What was done
Authors searched PubMed for English-language publications from 2019 to 2024 examining the relationship between Lyme disease and psychiatric symptoms (including depression and anxiety) as well as cognitive dysfunction.
What was found
The abstract provides no quantitative data. Acute neuroborreliosis typically resolved with treatment and had minimal cognitive effects. While some studies reported impairments in verbal fluency, attention, memory, and rare dementia-like cases, recent large-scale studies found no increased risk of dementia. Psychiatric findings (depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances) were inconsistent across studies, leading the authors to conclude there is no strong evidence linking Lyme disease to long-term cognitive or psychiatric disorders.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes recent literature to show that robust evidence does not support a causal link between Lyme disease and long-term psychiatric illness or cognitive decline.
Limits
The review searched only PubMed over a limited five-year window in English, did not state the total number of included studies, and lacked formal systematic review protocols such as risk of bias assessments or meta-analysis.
Cited by
- context Advanced and severe Lyme disease can present with dementia-like symptoms and neurological manifestations resembling cerebral palsy.