Estimated Global Proportions of Individuals With Persistent Fatigue, Cognitive, and Respiratory Symptom Clusters Following Symptomatic COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021

• Published in: Balıkesir Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi
• Main Authors: Wulf Hanson, Sarah, Abbafati, Cristiana, Aerts, Joachim G, Ballouz, Tala, Menges, Dominik
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Medical Association (AMA) 2022
• Subjects: Epidemiology; Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI); 610 Medicine & health; General Medicine; Faroe Islands
• Online Access: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/226003/; https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/226003/1/jama_wulf_hanson_2022_oi_220113_1666033246.84384_2.pdf; https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/2797443/jama_wulf_hanson_2022_oi_220113_1666033246.84384.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-226003; https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.18931

ImportanceSome individuals experience persistent symptoms after initial symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (often referred to as Long COVID).ObjectiveTo estimate the proportion of males and females with COVID-19, younger or older than 20 years of age, who had Long COVID symptoms in 2020 and 2021 and their Long COVID symptom duration.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsBayesian meta-regression and pooling of 54 studies and 2 medical record databases with data for 1.2 million individuals (from 22 countries) who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of the 54 studies, 44 were published and 10 were collaborating cohorts (conducted in Austria, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Iran, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US). The participant data were derived from the 44 published studies (10 501 hospitalized individuals and 42 891 nonhospitalized individuals), the 10 collaborating cohort studies (10 526 and 1906), and the 2 US electronic medical record databases (250 928 and 846 046). Data collection spanned March 2020 to January 2022.ExposuresSymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.Main Outcomes and MeasuresProportion of individuals with at least 1 of the 3 self-reported Long COVID symptom clusters (persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings; cognitive problems; or ongoing respiratory problems) 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020 and 2021, estimated separately for hospitalized and nonhospitalized individuals aged 20 years or older by sex and for both sexes of nonhospitalized individuals younger than 20 years of age.ResultsA total of 1.2 million individuals who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection were included (mean age, 4-66 years; males, 26%-88%). In the modeled estimates, 6.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 2.4%-13.3%) of individuals who had symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection experienced at least 1 of the 3 Long COVID symptom clusters in 2020 and 2021, including 3.2% (95% UI, 0.6%-10.0%) for persistent fatigue with bodily pain or mood swings, 3.7% (95% UI, 0.9%-9.6%) for ongoing respiratory ...