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Torrell G, Puente D, Jacques-Aviñó C, Carrasco-Ribelles LA, Violán C, López-Jiménez T, Royano V, Cantón AM, Medina-Perucha L, Rodríguez-Giralt I, Berenguera A. Characterisation, symptom pattern and symptom clusters from a retrospective cohort of Long COVID patients in primary care in Catalonia. BMC Infect Dis 2024; 24:82. [PMID: 38225587 PMCID: PMC10789045 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08954-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Around 10% of people infected by SARS-COV-2 report symptoms that persist longer than 3 months. Little has been reported about sex differences in symptoms and clustering over time of non-hospitalised patients in primary care settings. METHODS This is a descriptive study of a cohort of mainly non-hospitalized patients with a persistence of symptoms longer than 3 months from the clinical onset in co-creation with the Long Covid Catalan affected group using an online survey. Recruitment was from March 2020 to June 2021. Exclusion criteria were being admitted to an ICU, < 18 years of age and not living in Catalonia. We focused on 117 symptoms gathered in 18 groups and performed cluster analysis over the first 21 days of infection, at 22-60 days, and ≥ 3 months. RESULTS We analysed responses of 905 participants (80.3% women). Median time between symptom onset and the questionnaire response date was 8.7 months. General symptoms (as fatigue) were the most prevalent with no differences by sex, age, or wave although its frequency decreased over time (from 91.8 to 78.3%). Dermatological (52.1% in women, 28.5% in men), olfactory (34.9% women, 20.9% men) and neurocognitive symptoms (70.1% women, 55.8% men) showed the greatest differences by sex. Cluster analysis showed five clusters with a predominance of Taste & smell (24.9%) and Multisystemic clusters (26.5%) at baseline and _Multisystemic (34.59%) and Heterogeneous (24.0%) at ≥3 months. The Multisystemic cluster was more prevalent in men. The Menstrual cluster was the most stable over time, while most transitions occurred from the Heterogeneous cluster to the Multisystemic cluster and from Taste & smell to Heterogeneous. CONCLUSIONS General symptoms were the most prevalent in both sexes at three-time cut-off points. Major sex differences were observed in dermatological, olfactory and neurocognitive symptoms. The increase of the Heterogeneous cluster might suggest an adaptation to symptoms or a non-specific evolution of the condition which can hinder its detection at medical appointments. A carefully symptom collection and patients' participation in research may generate useful knowledge about Long Covid presentation in primary care settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma Torrell
- Centre d'Atenció Primària Les Indianes, Gerència Territorial de Barcelona, Institut Català de la Salut, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diana Puente
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
- Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS) (RD21/0016/0029) Insitituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Constanza Jacques-Aviñó
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lucia A Carrasco-Ribelles
- Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS) (RD21/0016/0029) Insitituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Unitat de Suport a la Recerca Metropolitana Nord, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAP Jordi Gol), Mataró, Spain
- Grup de REcerca en Impacte de les Malalties Cròniques i les seves Trajectòries (GRIMTra), (2021 SGR 01537), Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAPJGol), 08008, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Concepció Violán
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS) (RD21/0016/0029) Insitituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Unitat de Suport a la Recerca Metropolitana Nord, Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAP Jordi Gol), Mataró, Spain
- Grup de REcerca en Impacte de les Malalties Cròniques i les seves Trajectòries (GRIMTra), (2021 SGR 01537), Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Atenció Primària Jordi Gol (IDIAPJGol), 08008, Barcelona, Spain
- Direcció d'Atenció Primària Metropolitana Nord Institut Català de Salut, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Tomás López-Jiménez
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Veronica Royano
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya BarcelonaTech (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
- Members of the Col·lectiu d'Afectades i Afectats Persistents per COVID-19 a Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alba Molina Cantón
- Members of the Col·lectiu d'Afectades i Afectats Persistents per COVID-19 a Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Medina-Perucha
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Israel Rodríguez-Giralt
- Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anna Berenguera
- Fundació Institut Universitari per a la recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
- Network for Research on Chronicity, Primary Care, and Health Promotion (RICAPPS) (RD21/0016/0029) Insitituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
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