Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: This study examines clinically confirmed long-COVID symptoms and diagnosis among individuals with COVID in England, aiming to understand prevalence and associated risk factors using electronic health records. To further understand long COVID, the study also explored differences in risks and symptom profiles in three subgroups: hospitalised, non-hospitalised, and untreated COVID cases.
METHODS: A population-based longitudinal cohort study was conducted using data from 1,554,040 individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection via Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Descriptive statistics explored the prevalence of long COVID symptoms 12 weeks post-infection, and Cox regression models analysed the associated risk factors. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the impact of right-censoring data.
RESULTS: During an average 400-day follow-up, 7.4% of individuals with COVID had at least one long-COVID symptom after acute phase, yet only 0.5% had long-COVID diagnostic codes. The most common long-COVID symptoms included cough (17.7%), back pain (15.2%), stomach-ache (11.2%), headache (11.1%), and sore throat (10.0%). The same trend was observed in all three subgroups. Risk factors associated with long-COVID symptoms were female sex, non-white ethnicity, obesity, and pre-existing medical conditions like anxiety, depression, type II diabetes, and somatic symptom disorders.
CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of clinically confirmed long-COVID in the general population. The findings could help clinicians identify higher risk individuals for timely intervention and allow decision-makers to more efficiently allocate resources for managing long-COVID.
METHODS: A population-based longitudinal cohort study was conducted using data from 1,554,040 individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection via Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Descriptive statistics explored the prevalence of long COVID symptoms 12 weeks post-infection, and Cox regression models analysed the associated risk factors. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the impact of right-censoring data.
RESULTS: During an average 400-day follow-up, 7.4% of individuals with COVID had at least one long-COVID symptom after acute phase, yet only 0.5% had long-COVID diagnostic codes. The most common long-COVID symptoms included cough (17.7%), back pain (15.2%), stomach-ache (11.2%), headache (11.1%), and sore throat (10.0%). The same trend was observed in all three subgroups. Risk factors associated with long-COVID symptoms were female sex, non-white ethnicity, obesity, and pre-existing medical conditions like anxiety, depression, type II diabetes, and somatic symptom disorders.
CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of clinically confirmed long-COVID in the general population. The findings could help clinicians identify higher risk individuals for timely intervention and allow decision-makers to more efficiently allocate resources for managing long-COVID.
摘要：
目的：这项研究检查了英格兰COVID患者临床证实的长期COVID症状和诊断，旨在使用电子健康记录了解患病率和相关风险因素。为了进一步理解长COVID，该研究还探讨了三个亚组的风险和症状特征的差异：住院，非住院患者,和未经治疗的COVID病例。
方法：一项基于人群的纵向队列研究，通过临床实践研究数据链路，使用1,554,040名确诊SARS-CoV-2感染的个体的数据进行。描述性统计探讨了感染后12周长期COVID症状的患病率，Cox回归模型分析了相关的危险因素。进行了敏感性分析，以检验权利审查数据的影响。
结果：在平均400天的随访中，7.4%的COVID患者在急性期后出现至少一种长COVID症状，然而，只有0.5%的人有长COVID诊断代码。最常见的长期COVID症状包括咳嗽（17.7%），背痛（15.2%），胃痛(11.2%)，头痛(11.1%)，喉咙痛(10.0%)。在所有三个亚组中观察到相同的趋势。与长期COVID症状相关的危险因素是女性，非白人种族,肥胖，以及焦虑等预先存在的疾病，抑郁症,II型糖尿病,和躯体症状障碍。
结论：本研究首次调查了临床确诊的长COVID在普通人群中的患病率和危险因素。这些发现可以帮助临床医生识别风险较高的个体，以便及时干预，并允许决策者更有效地分配资源来管理长期COVID。
方法：一项基于人群的纵向队列研究，通过临床实践研究数据链路，使用1,554,040名确诊SARS-CoV-2感染的个体的数据进行。描述性统计探讨了感染后12周长期COVID症状的患病率，Cox回归模型分析了相关的危险因素。进行了敏感性分析，以检验权利审查数据的影响。
结果：在平均400天的随访中，7.4%的COVID患者在急性期后出现至少一种长COVID症状，然而，只有0.5%的人有长COVID诊断代码。最常见的长期COVID症状包括咳嗽（17.7%），背痛（15.2%），胃痛(11.2%)，头痛(11.1%)，喉咙痛(10.0%)。在所有三个亚组中观察到相同的趋势。与长期COVID症状相关的危险因素是女性，非白人种族,肥胖，以及焦虑等预先存在的疾病，抑郁症,II型糖尿病,和躯体症状障碍。
结论：本研究首次调查了临床确诊的长COVID在普通人群中的患病率和危险因素。这些发现可以帮助临床医生识别风险较高的个体，以便及时干预，并允许决策者更有效地分配资源来管理长期COVID。
