Long COVID In Adults at 12 Months After Mild-to-Moderate SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Boscolo Rizzo, P.; Guida, F.; Polesel, J.; Marcuzzo, A. V.; Capriotti, V.; D'Alessandro, A.; Zanelli, E.; Marzolino, R.; Lazzarin, C.; Antonucci, P.; Sacchet, E.; Tofanelli, M.; Borsetto, D.; Gardenal, N.; Pengo, M.; Tirelli, G.

Background. In a proportion of patients recovered from the acute COVID-19 phase, a variable range of symptoms has been observed to persist for at least 6-months. Objectives. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-related symptoms 12-months after the onset of mild-to-moderate disease. Methods Prospective study based on structured questionnaires and additional outcomes. Results 304/354 patients completing the survey at baseline also completed the follow-up interview (85.9%; median [range] age, 47 [18-76] years; 185 [60.9%] women). Persistence of at least one symptom at 12-months follow-up was reported by 161 patients (53.0%). The most commonly reported symptom of long COVID was felt tired (n=83, 27.3%), followed by smell or taste impairment (n=67, 22.0%), shortness of breath (n=39, 12.8%) and muscle pain (n=28, 9.2%). Being females (OR=1.64; 95% CI: 1.00-2.70), aged between 40-54 (OR=1.92; 95% CI: 1.07-3.44), having a BMI[ge]25 (OR=1.67; 95% CI: 1.00-2.78), and experiencing more symptoms during the acute phase of the disease (OR=8.71 for [ge]8 symptoms; 95% CI: 2.73-27.76) were associated with long COVID. Persistence of symptoms showed a significant impact on quality of life (p[lt];0.0001) and depression scale scores (p=0.0102). Conclusion More than half of patients with previous mild-to-moderate symptomatic COVID-19 complained the persistence of at least one symptom 12-months after the onset of the illness.