Factors Associated With Long COVID Symptoms in an Online Cohort Study
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Open Access
- 1 February 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Open Forum Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 10 (2), ofad047
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofad047
Abstract
Few prospective studies of Long COVID risk factors have been conducted. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sociodemographic factors, lifestyle, or medical history preceding COVID-19 or characteristics of acute SARS-CoV-2 infection are associated with Long COVID. The COVID-19 Citizen Science (CCS) study is an online cohort study that began enrolling March 26, 2020, with longitudinal assessment of symptoms before, during, and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Adult participants who reported a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result prior to April 4, 2022, were surveyed for Long COVID symptoms. The primary outcome was at least 1 prevalent Long COVID symptom greater than 1 month after acute infection. Exposures of interest included age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, employment, socioeconomic status/financial insecurity, self-reported medical history, vaccination status, variant wave, number of acute symptoms, pre-COVID depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug use, sleep, and exercise. Of 13,305 participants who reported a SARS-CoV-2 positive test, 1480 (11.1%) responded. Respondents’ mean age was 53 and 1017 (69%) were female. 476 (32.2%) reported Long COVID symptoms at a median 360 days after infection. In multivariable models, number of acute symptoms (OR 1.30 per symptom, 95%CI 1.20-1.40), lower socioeconomic status/financial insecurity (OR 1.62, 95%CI 1.02-2.63), pre-infection depression (OR 1.08, 95%CI 1.01-1.16), and earlier variants (OR 0.37 for Omicron compared to ancestral strain, 95%CI 0.15-0.90) were associated with Long COVID symptoms. Variant wave, severity of acute infection, lower socioeconomic status and pre-existing depression are associated with Long COVID symptoms.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (3U2CEB021881-05S1)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (COVID-2020C2-10761)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-017206)
- NIH/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant (K12HL143961)
- NIH/NIAIN (K23AI157875)
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