Factors associated with persistence or recovery from long COVID six months post SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2025, Woldegiorgis et al.

[SNT Gatchaman]

Factors associated with persistence or recovery from long COVID six months post SARS-CoV-2 infection

Spoiler: Authors

Mulu Woldegiorgis; Lauren Bloomfield; Rosemary Korda; Gemma Cadby; Sera Ngeh; Paul Knight; Andrew Jardine; Jelena Maticevic; Paul Armstrong; Paul Effler

There are limited data on the illness trajectory for individuals with long COVID. We prospectively followed 1,234 individuals with long COVID at 3 months post SARSCoV-2 infection to identify factors associated with persistence or recovery.

At 6 months post infection, 724 (58.7%) had persistent long COVID and 510 (41.3%) had fully recovered. In multivariable analyses, pre-existing health conditions at the time of initial SARS-CoV-2 infection and reporting fatigue, shortness of breath, and cough 3 months post infection were independent predictors of persistent long COVID.

Age, sex, and number of COVID vaccinations were not significantly associated with persistent long COVID. For persons with persistent long COVID, the median number of symptoms remained stable over follow-up, indicating that there had been little symptomatic improvement. A third of those with persistent long COVID reported seeking medical care for their symptoms and a third had ceased or reduced their hours of work/study.

Our findings suggest that there may be distinct clinical trajectories for long COVID observed between 3-and 6-months follow-up, i.e., persons who experience full recovery and those with minimal clinical improvement, and this may have implications for management of affected individuals.

Web | PDF | Epidemiology & Infection | Open Access

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

we found that about a third of those with persistent long COVID were not fully back at work or study 6 months after their initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, including a substantial number of people who had previously fully returned to these activities by 3 months. These data are consistent with other investigations reporting that the impact of the disease on patients' lives began increasing 6 months after their initial illness and corroborate other studies in documenting the significant economic impact of long COVID for both employees and employers

 

[Joan Crawford]

Shockingly large number of people not recovering and dropping out of employment and study. Personal and economic catastrophe.