Fifteen percent of health workers in a Swedish hospital who have recovered from mild COVID-19 for at least 8 months report at least one moderate to severe symptom that disrupts their work, home or social life, according to a research letter released yesterday in JAMA.
A team led by scientists from Danderyd Hospital, part of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, conducted the study from April 2020 to January 2021. The research involved obtaining blood samples and giving questionnaires to participating health workers to the ongoing COVID-19 Biomarker and Immunity (COMMUNITY) study.
Symptoms for at least 2 months at 26%
Of the 323 participants who were seropositive, or had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, indicating previous infection, 26% reported that at least one moderate to severe symptom persisted for at least 2 months, compared with 9% of 1,072 seronegative participants (risk ratio) [RR], 2.9). Similarly, 15% of the seropositive and 3% of the seronegative participants said that they had a persistent symptom for 8 months or longer (RR, 4.4).
Among the seropositive participants, 8% said that their persistent symptoms caused moderate to marked interruptions in their work life, compared with 4% of the seronegative group (RR, 1.8).
Similarly, 15% of seropositive participants reported that their persistent symptoms disrupted their social life to a moderate to noticeable extent, compared with 6% of the seronegative group (RR, 2.5). And 12% of the seropositive group reported interruptions in their home life, compared to 5% of the seronegative group (RR, 2.3).
In addition to reporting at least one symptom lasting 8 months or more, 11% of seropositive participants indicated moderate to marked disruption in any category of the Sheehan disability scale, compared with 2% of the seronegative group (RR, 4.5). .
Lower long-term quality of life
The most common symptoms that lasted for at least 2 months in the seropositive group included fatigue, loss of smell or taste and shortness of breath.
“However, we do not see an increased incidence of cognitive symptoms such as brain fatigue, memory and concentration problems or physical disorders such as muscle and joint pain, palpitations or long-term fever,” senior author Charlotte Thalin, MD, PhD, said in a news release. Karolinska Institutet said.
Seropositive group members who said they had no or mild previous symptoms had a median age of 43 years, and 83% were women, while the median age in the seregative group was 47 years and 86% women.
Among seropositive participants, 22% reported having chronic underlying conditions, compared with 24% of the seronegative group.
“The results of this study showed that a significant proportion of low-risk individuals with mild COVID-19 reported a variety of long-term symptoms, and that these symptoms disrupted work, social, and domestic life,” the authors write. “Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying COVID-19-related long-term sequencing.”
Chief author Sebastian Havervall, managing director, said in the release that the findings illustrate the serious long-term consequences of COVID-19 after even mild illness. “Despite the fact that the study participants had a mild COVID-19 infection, a relatively large proportion report long-term symptoms with an impact on quality of life,” he said.
“In light of this, we believe that young and healthy individuals, as well as other groups in society, should have great respect for the virus, which seems to be significantly detrimental to quality of life, even for a long time after the infection. ”