Exploring predictors of post-COVID-19 condition among 810 851 individuals in Sweden, 2025, Xu et al.

[SNT Gatchaman]

Exploring predictors of post-COVID-19 condition among 810 851 individuals in Sweden

Spoiler: Authors

Xu, Yiyi; Li, Huiqi; Sigström, Robert; Lundberg-Morris, Lisa; Gisslén, Magnus; Larsson, Simon B; Nyberg, Fredrik; Bygdell, Maria

BACKGROUND
Long-term effects of COVID-19 can place burden on individuals, healthcare, and society. We aimed to evaluate the importance of a wide range of potential risk factors for being diagnosed with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).

METHODS
We used data from national and regional registers and databases for all adult residents in the two largest regions in Sweden. Individuals with a first COVID-19 between 1 August 2020 and 9 February 2022 were included and followed until PCC diagnosis, censoring (death or migration), or 30 November 2023. Using Cox proportional hazards models and backwards stepwise selection, we evaluated a large set of risk factors including sociodemographic data, comorbidities, healthcare contact behaviors, COVID-19-related factors, as well as PCC in family and cohabitants (as proxies for genetics and shared environment).

RESULTS
We include 810,851 individuals (age range 18-106 years and 53.3% women), of whom 1.4% are diagnosed with PCC during follow-up. Female sex, older age, being born outside Sweden, higher educational attainment, essential workers, having comorbidities such as thromboembolic disease, asthma, fibromyalgia, depression/anxiety, and stress-related disorders, being infected earlier in the study period, experiencing severe acute COVID-19, not being vaccinated before COVID-19, and having a relative or a cohabitant with PCC are associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with PCC.

CONCLUSIONS
In this large population-based cohort study, our exploratory analysis reveals several risk factors for being diagnosed with PCC. Our findings can serve as a basis for future targeting of preventive measures against PCC.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
Long-term effects of COVID-19 can place burden on individuals, healthcare, and society. We aimed to explore a wide range of potential risk factors for being diagnosed with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). We included 810,851 individuals, of whom 1.4% were diagnosed with PCC during follow-up, using data from registers in Sweden. Female sex, older age, being born outside Sweden, higher educational attainment, essential workers, having comorbidities such as thromboembolic disease, asthma, fibromyalgia, depression/anxiety, and stress-related disorders, being infected earlier in the study period, experiencing severe acute COVID-19, not being vaccinated before COVID-19, and having a relative or a cohabitant with PCC are associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with PCC. Our findings can serve as a basis for future targeting of preventive measures against PCC.

Web | PDF | Nature Communications Medicine | Open Access

 

[rvallee]

I don't know if this is unique or particular to medicine, but it's absolutely baffling how so many studies have been done, though almost all of them poor to the point of being useless, and absolutely nothing useful has been learned out of it. Not One thing. When we look back at the very first study done by a community of LC patients, everything that we know today was already known.

And yet nothing ever changes about... anything. Things just plow through, nothing is ever achieved or learned, the problem actually grows and yet almost no one is able to do anything because if anything, we might know less today than 50 years simply because of all the mass of garbage that has polluted the whole thing.

So much data. Very little useful information. No actual knowledge gained. Even though they started with way more than is needed. It's right there, and they can't even pluck the stuff that keeps falling on their lap. It's like a giant bystander effect, where most of the bystanders are literally the only people who can do something, but they all just stand around not getting anything, never actually doing anything worth doing, but utterly incapable of changing a damn thing about it.

Our findings can serve as a basis for future targeting of preventive measures against PCC.

Oh, sure, why the hell not? It will be delivered by either Santa or Satan during the week of four Thursdays, whoever is free and doesn't have water waiting to boil, I guess.