Persisting symptoms three to eight months after non-hospitalized COVID-19, a prospective cohort study

Long-COVID-19 is a proposed syndrome negatively affecting the health of COVID-19 patients. We present data on self-rated health three to eight months after laboratory confirmed COVID-19 disease compared to a control group of SARS-CoV-2 negative patients. We followed a cohort of 8786 non-hospitalized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2021-08, Vol.16 (8), p.e0256142
Main Authors: Søraas, Arne, Kalleberg, Karl Trygve, Dahl, John Arne, Søraas, Camilla Lund, Myklebust, Tor Åge, Axelsen, Eyvind, Lind, Andreas, Bævre-Jensen, Roar, Jørgensen, Silje Bakken, Istre, Mette S, Kjetland, Eyrun F, Ursin, Giske
Format: Article
Language:eng ; nor
Subjects:
Biology and life sciences
Chronic illnesses
Cohort analysis
Coronaviruses
Cough
COVID-19
Demographics
Demography
Disease control
Evaluation
Home care
Laboratories
Medical personnel
Medicine and health sciences
Multivariate analysis
People and Places
Pharyngitis
Research and Analysis Methods
Risk analysis
Risk factors
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Signs and symptoms
Social Sciences
Viral diseases
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Summary:Long-COVID-19 is a proposed syndrome negatively affecting the health of COVID-19 patients. We present data on self-rated health three to eight months after laboratory confirmed COVID-19 disease compared to a control group of SARS-CoV-2 negative patients. We followed a cohort of 8786 non-hospitalized patients who were invited after SARS-CoV-2 testing between February 1 and April 15, 2020 (794 positive, 7229 negative). Participants answered online surveys at baseline and follow-up including questions on demographics, symptoms, risk factors for SARS-CoV-2, and self-rated health compared to one year ago. Determinants for a worsening of self-rated health as compared to one year ago among the SARS-CoV-2 positive group were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and also compared to the population norm. The follow-up questionnaire was completed by 85% of the SARS-CoV-2 positive and 75% of the SARS-CoV-2 negative participants on average 132 days after the SARS-CoV-2 test. At follow-up, 36% of the SARS-CoV-2 positive participants rated their health “somewhat” or “much” worse than one year ago. In contrast, 18% of the SARS-CoV-2 negative participants reported a similar deterioration of health while the population norm is 12%. Sore throat and cough were more frequently reported by the control group at follow-up. Neither gender nor follow-up time was associated with the multivariate odds of worsening of self-reported health compared to one year ago. Age had an inverted-U formed association with a worsening of health while being fit and being a health professional were associated with lower multivariate odds. A significant proportion of non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients, regardless of age, have not returned to their usual health three to eight months after infection.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0256142