Long COVID occurrence in COVID-19 survivors

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the post-acute consequences of COVID-19. We conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey on sequelae, psychological distress (K6), impairments in work performance (WFun), and COVID-19–related experiences of stigma and discrimination in two designated COVID-19 hospitals in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, between August 2020 and March 2021. The prevalence of sequelae was calculated by age and COVID-19 severity. Factors independently associated with sequelae or psychological distress were identified using logistic regression analysis. Among 127 patients who had recovered from COVID-19, 52.0% had persistent symptoms at a median of 29 days [IQR 23–128] after COVID-19 onset. Among patients with mild COVID-19, 49.5% had sequelae. The most frequent symptoms were olfactory disorders (15.0%), taste disorders (14.2%), and cough (14.2%). Multivariate analysis showed that age was an independent risk factor for sequelae (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] for ≥ 60 years vs. < 40 years 3.63, p = 0.0165). Possible psychological distress was noted in 30.7% (17.9% of males and 45.0% of females). Female sex and the presence of sequelae were independent risk factors for psychological distress. Of all participants, 29.1% had possible impairments in work performance. Experiences of stigma and discrimination were reported by 43.3% of participants. This study revealed the significant impacts of Long COVID on health in local communities. A large-scale, long-term cohort study is desired.

Long COVID and its Management

“…The COVID Symptom Study identified advanced age as a risk factor for long COVID [7]. Approximately one in five COVID survivor of over 70 years of age reported having lasting symptoms [87]. In contrast, self-reporting data from the UK's Office for National Statistic suggested subjects aged from 35 to 69 have the highest prevalence in experiencing long COVID [31].…”

Post-Acute COVID-19 Sequelae in a Working Population at One Year Follow-Up: A Wide Range of Impacts from an Italian Sample

“…Although the introduction of vaccines in January 2021 led to a significant reduction in the number of mild and severe symptomatic patients, the sequelae that COVID-19 can cause in the long term are still cause for concern [ 5 , 6 ]. Sequelae following COVID-19 are various and may include fatigue, muscle and/or joint pain, exercise intolerance, breathlessness, nausea, headaches, memory loss and mood disturbances [ 7 , 8 ]. The WHO uses the term “Post COVID-19 Condition” or “Long Covid” to identify the set of symptomatic sequelae that typically develop within three months of COVID-19 infection, last at least two months, and cannot be explained by alternative diagnoses [ 9 ].…”

Life orientation and psychological distress in COVID recovered patients-the role of coping as a mediator

“…The psychological distress was particularly evident among the patients who suffered from COVID (Vahedian-Azimi et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2020;Imran et al, 2021;Jafri et al, 2022) and were also hospitalized (Guo et al, 2020;Ju et al, 2021;Vlake et al, 2021), despite there being a difference in symptoms and intensity of the disease. The level of distress was more pronounced among people during the initial stages (Cai et al, 2020;Daly and Robinson, 2021), after several months of recovery (Niedzwiedz et al, 2021) and also among women (Sugiyama et al, 2022).…”