Incidence of long COVID-19 in people with previous SARS-Cov2 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 120,970 patients

Abstract

The long-term consequences of the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) are likely to be frequent but results hitherto are inconclusive. Therefore, we aimed to define the incidence of long-term COVID signs and symptoms as defined by the World Health Organization, using a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. A systematic search in several databases was carried out up to 12 January 2022 for observational studies reporting the cumulative incidence of long COVID signs and symptoms divided according to body systems affected. Data are reported as incidence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Several sensitivity and meta-regression analyses were performed. Among 11,162 papers initially screened, 196 were included, consisting of 120,970 participants (mean age: 52.3 years; 48.8% females) who were followed-up for a median of six months. The incidence of any long COVID symptomatology was 56.9% (95% CI 52.2–61.6). General long COVID signs and symptoms were the most frequent (incidence of 31%) and digestive issues the least frequent (7.7%). The presence of any neurological, general and cardiovascular long COVID symptomatology was most frequent in females. Higher mean age was associated with higher incidence of psychiatric, respiratory, general, digestive and skin conditions. The incidence of long COVID symptomatology was different according to continent and follow-up length. Long COVID is a common condition in patients who have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, regardless of the severity of the acute illness, indicating the need for more cohort studies on this topic.

Persistent COVID-19 Symptoms at 6 Months After Onset and the Role of Vaccination Before or After SARS-CoV-2 Infection

“…Other factors associated with longer-term symptoms that are identified in the literature, such as obesity, age, and female sex, were not associated with longer duration of symptoms when included in a multivariable model. A recent meta-analysis demonstrated that severity of COVID-19 (as measured by hospitalization) was not associated with risk of PCCs . In the EPICC study cohort, participants were at higher risk of reporting 28 or more days of symptoms if they were hospitalized during their initial infection or if they had higher self-reported symptom severity.…”

“…A recent meta-analysis demonstrated that severity of COVID-19 (as measured by hospitalization) was not associated with risk of PCCs. 26 In the EPICC study cohort, participants were at higher risk of reporting 28 or more days of symptoms if they were hospitalized during their initial infection or if they had higher self-reported symptom severity. Our findings may contribute to prognostic frameworks for advising those who may be more likely to develop PCCs.…”

Prognostic Value of Magnesium in COVID-19: Findings from the COMEPA Study

“…To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to show the impact of low serum Mg status for long COVID and, in particular, for PTSD. Since long COVID may affect more than 50% of the patients previously hospitalized for COVID-19 [ 90 ], our study suggests the need to early identify and correct poor Mg status in order to help prevent this complication. Of importance, our study suggests that a peculiar association with psychiatric disorders may exist, confirming the previous literature in this direction [ 91 ].…”

“…Second, long COVID was detected using phone calls and not using other more validated tests, such as medical records. We have recently had the opportunity to review systematically and perform a meta-analysis of the incidence and frequency of signs and symptoms of long COVID according to the definition of the World Health Organization among 120,979 patients from 196 studies, as shown below [ 90 ]. In the [Supplementary Table S2 of the article, we report the characteristics of the 196 studies included, comprising the methods of follow-up assessing the symptomatology for the formulation of long COVID diagnosis.…”

Stratification of COVID-19 Severity Using SeptiCyte RAPID, a Novel Host Immune Response Test

“…This question will need to be addressed in subsequent studies. A final limitation of our study is that we were unable to follow patients after discharge from hospital, to determine if they ultimately exhibited any post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 disease, i.e., signs or symptoms of “long COVID” [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]. It remains to be established whether SeptiCyte RAPID would have clinical utility in helping to diagnose this condition.…”