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Subramanian A, Nirantharakumar K, Hughes S, Myles P, Williams T, Gokhale KM, Taverner T, Chandan JS, Brown K, Simms-Williams N, Shah AD, Singh M, Kidy F, Okoth K, Hotham R, Bashir N, Cockburn N, Lee SI, Turner GM, Gkoutos GV, Aiyegbusi OL, McMullan C, Denniston AK, Sapey E, Lord JM, Wraith DC, Leggett E, Iles C, Marshall T, Price MJ, Marwaha S, Davies EH, Jackson LJ, Matthews KL, Camaradou J, Calvert M, Haroon S. Symptoms and risk factors for long COVID in non-hospitalized adults. Nat Med 2022; 28:1706-1714. [PMID: 35879616 PMCID: PMC9388369 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01909-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 317] [Impact Index Per Article: 158.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with a range of persistent symptoms impacting everyday functioning, known as post-COVID-19 condition or long COVID. We undertook a retrospective matched cohort study using a UK-based primary care database, Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum, to determine symptoms that are associated with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection beyond 12 weeks in non-hospitalized adults and the risk factors associated with developing persistent symptoms. We selected 486,149 adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1,944,580 propensity score-matched adults with no recorded evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Outcomes included 115 individual symptoms, as well as long COVID, defined as a composite outcome of 33 symptoms by the World Health Organization clinical case definition. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for the outcomes. A total of 62 symptoms were significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection after 12 weeks. The largest aHRs were for anosmia (aHR 6.49, 95% CI 5.02-8.39), hair loss (3.99, 3.63-4.39), sneezing (2.77, 1.40-5.50), ejaculation difficulty (2.63, 1.61-4.28) and reduced libido (2.36, 1.61-3.47). Among the cohort of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, risk factors for long COVID included female sex, belonging to an ethnic minority, socioeconomic deprivation, smoking, obesity and a wide range of comorbidities. The risk of developing long COVID was also found to be increased along a gradient of decreasing age. SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a plethora of symptoms that are associated with a range of sociodemographic and clinical risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Krishnarajah Nirantharakumar
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- Midlands Health Data Research UK, Birmingham, UK.
- DEMAND Hub, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
| | - Sarah Hughes
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) - West Midlands, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham-Oxford Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Puja Myles
- Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, London, UK
| | - Tim Williams
- Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, London, UK
| | - Krishna M Gokhale
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Tom Taverner
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Joht Singh Chandan
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kirsty Brown
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Anoop D Shah
- Institute of Health Informatics, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Megha Singh
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Farah Kidy
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Kelvin Okoth
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Richard Hotham
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nasir Bashir
- School of Oral and Dental Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Neil Cockburn
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Siang Ing Lee
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Grace M Turner
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Georgios V Gkoutos
- Midlands Health Data Research UK, Birmingham, UK
- DEMAND Hub, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | - Olalekan Lee Aiyegbusi
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) - West Midlands, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham-Oxford Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Christel McMullan
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham-Oxford Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Trauma Science Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Alastair K Denniston
- Midlands Health Data Research UK, Birmingham, UK
- DEMAND Hub, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | - Elizabeth Sapey
- University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
- MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- PIONEER HDR-UK Data Hub in acute care, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Janet M Lord
- NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- MRC-Versus Arthritis Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- UK SPINE, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - David C Wraith
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Edward Leggett
- Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, London, UK
| | - Clare Iles
- Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, London, UK
| | - Tom Marshall
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Malcolm J Price
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Steven Marwaha
- Institute for Mental Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Louise J Jackson
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | | | - Melanie Calvert
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Midlands Health Data Research UK, Birmingham, UK
- DEMAND Hub, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Centre for Patient-Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) - West Midlands, Birmingham, UK
- Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham-Oxford Blood and Transplant Research Unit (BTRU) in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- PIONEER HDR-UK Data Hub in acute care, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Shamil Haroon
- Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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