New-onset, self-reported long COVID after coronavirus (COVID-19) reinfection in the UK, 2023, ONS

New-onset, self-reported long COVID after coronavirus (COVID-19) reinfection in the UK

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Main points

• 4.0% of adults (aged 16 years and over) and 1.0% of children and young people (aged 2 to 15 years) reported having long COVID 12 to 20 weeks after a first coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, from 1 November 2021.
• Among those who did not report having long COVID after a first COVID-19 infection, 2.4% of adults and 0.6% of children and young people reported long COVID following a second COVID-19 infection.
• After adjusting for factors related to the risk of both COVID-19 reinfection and self-reported long COVID (sociodemographic characteristics, vaccination status, and the date of infection as an indicator of the variant type), the odds of new-onset, self-reported long COVID among adults were 28% lower after a second COVID-19 infection, compared with a first infection.
• Among children and young people, there was no statistical evidence of a difference in the adjusted odds of new-onset, self-reported long COVID between first and second COVID-19 infections.
• Similar differences in adjusted odds between first and second infections were observed when focussing on new-onset long COVID that limited daily activities, but at lower levels of prevalence: 2.8% for first infections compared with 1.6% for second infections among adults, and 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively, among children and young people.
• There was no evidence of differences in the relative risk of reporting new-onset long COVID after a second COVID-19 infection, compared with a first infection, by age, sex, ethnicity, pre-existing health status, area deprivation quintile group, or vaccination status.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...ercoronaviruscovid19reinfectionintheuk/latest