Project description:Abstract Background 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 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are associated with Long COVID. Methods In March 26, 2020, the COVID-19 Citizen Science study, an online cohort study, began enrolling participants with longitudinal assessment of symptoms before, during, and after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Adult participants who reported a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result before 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. Results 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. Four hundred seventy-six (32.2%) participants reported Long COVID symptoms at a median 360 days after infection. In multivariable models, number of acute symptoms (odds ratio [OR], 1.30 per symptom; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–1.40), lower socioeconomic status/financial insecurity (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.02–2.63), preinfection depression (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01–1.16), and earlier variants (OR = 0.37 for Omicron compared with ancestral strain; 95% CI, 0.15–0.90) were associated with Long COVID symptoms. Conclusions Variant wave, severity of acute infection, lower socioeconomic status, and pre-existing depression are associated with Long COVID symptoms. Persistent symptoms were highly prevalent and commonly persisted beyond 1 year. Number of symptoms during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, financial insecurity, pre-existing depression, and earlier variants are associated with Long COVID symptoms independent of vaccination, medical history, and other factors.
| S-EPMC9945931 | biostudies-literature