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Daitch V, Yelin D, Awwad M, Guaraldi G, Milić J, Mussini C, Falcone M, Tiseo G, Carrozzi L, Pistelli F, Nehme M, Guessous I, Kaiser L, Vetter P, Bordas-Martínez J, Durà-Miralles X, Peleato-Catalan D, Gudiol C, Shapira-Lichter I, Abecasis D, Leibovici L, Yahav D, Margalit I. Characteristics of long-COVID among older adults: a cross-sectional study. Int J Infect Dis 2022; 125:287-293. [PMID: 36191820 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2022.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 09/08/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To describe long-COVID symptoms among older adults and to assess the risk factors for two common long-COVID symptoms: fatigue and dyspnea. METHODS This is a multicenter, prospective cohort study conducted in Israel, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy. Individuals were included at least 30 days after their COVID-19 diagnosis. We compared long-COVID symptoms between elderly (aged >65 years) and younger individuals (aged 18-65 years) and conducted univariate and multivariable analyses for the predictors of long-COVID fatigue and dyspnea. RESULTS A total of 2333 individuals were evaluated at an average of 5 months (146 days [95% confidence interval 142-150]) after COVID-19 onset. The mean age was 51 years, and 20.5% were aged >65 years. Older adults were more likely to be symptomatic, with the most common symptoms being fatigue (38%) and dyspnea (30%); they were more likely to complain of cough and arthralgia and have abnormal chest imaging and pulmonary function tests. Independent risk factors for long-COVID fatigue and dyspnea included female gender, obesity, and closer proximity to COVID-19 diagnosis; older age was not an independent predictor. CONCLUSION Older individuals with long-COVID have different persisting symptoms, with more pronounced pulmonary impairment. Women and individuals with obesity are at risk. Further research is warranted to investigate the natural history of long-COVID among the elderly population and to assess possible interventions aimed at promoting rehabilitation and well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vered Daitch
- COVID recovery clinic, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel.
| | - Dana Yelin
- COVID recovery clinic, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel
| | - Muhammad Awwad
- Internal medicine E, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
| | - Giovanni Guaraldi
- Infectious Diseases Clinic, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Jovana Milić
- Infectious Diseases Clinic, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Cristina Mussini
- Infectious Diseases Clinic, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Marco Falcone
- Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giusy Tiseo
- Department of Surgical, Medical, and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Laura Carrozzi
- Department of Surgical, Medical, and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Pulmonary Unit, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Department, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesco Pistelli
- Department of Surgical, Medical, and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Pulmonary Unit, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Department, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Mayssam Nehme
- Division and Department of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Idris Guessous
- Division and Department of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Laurent Kaiser
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pauline Vetter
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Xavier Durà-Miralles
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Carlota Gudiol
- Infectious Diseases Department, Bellvitge University Hospital. Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO), Hospital Duran I Reynals. IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irit Shapira-Lichter
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel; Functional MRI Center, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
| | - Donna Abecasis
- Functional MRI Center, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
| | - Leonard Leibovici
- Research Authority, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
| | - Dafna Yahav
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel; Infectious Diseases Unit, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
| | - Ili Margalit
- COVID recovery clinic, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel; Infectious Diseases Unit, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Hospital, Petah-Tikva, Israel
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