TY - JOUR
AU - Pazukina, Ekaterina
AU - Garcia-Gallo, Esteban
AU - Reyes, Luis Felipe
AU - Kildal, Anders Benjamin
AU - Jassat, Waasila
AU - Dryden, Murray
AU - Holter, Jan Cato
AU - Chatterjee, Allegra
AU - Gomez, Kyle
AU - Søraas, Arne
AU - Puntoni, Matteo
AU - Latronico, Nicola
AU - Bozza, Fernando A.
AU - Edelstein, Michael
AU - Gonçalves, Bronner P.
AU - Kartsonaki, Christiana
AU - Kruglova, Oksana
AU - Gaião, Sérgio
AU - Chow, Yock Ping
AU - Doshi, Yash
AU - Duque, Sara
AU - Ibañez, Elsa D.
AU - Fuentes, Yuli V.
AU - Hastie, Claire E.
AU - O’Hara, Margaret E.
AU - Balan, Valeria
AU - Menkir, Tigist
AU - Merson, Laura
AU - Kelly, Sadie
AU - Citarella, Barbara Wanjiru
AU - Scott, Janet T.
AU - Munblit, Daniel
AU - Sigfrid, Louise
AU - ISARIC Clinical Characterization Group
AU - ISARIC Global Paediatric Long COVID Working Group
PY - 2024
DA - October
TI - Long covid: a global health issue - a prospective, cohort study set in four continents
JO - BMJ Global Health
VL - 9
IS - 10
DO - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015245
AB - Introduction: A proportion of people develop Long Covid after acute COVID-19, but with most studies concentrated in high-income countries (HICs), the global burden is largely unknown. Our study aims to characterise long-term COVID-19 sequelae in populations globally and compare the prevalence of reported symptoms in HICs and low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: A prospective, observational study in 17 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, including adults with confirmed COVID-19 assessed at 2 to &lt;6 and 6 to &lt;12 months post-hospital discharge. A standardised case report form developed by International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium’s Global COVID-19 Follow-up working group evaluated the frequency of fever, persistent symptoms, breathlessness (MRC dyspnoea scale), fatigue and impact on daily activities. Results: Of 11 860 participants (median age: 52 (IQR: 41–62) years; 52.1% females), 56.5% were from HICs and 43.5% were from LMICs. The proportion identified with Long Covid was significantly higher in HICs vs LMICs at both assessment time points (69.0% vs 45.3%, p&lt;0.001; 69.7% vs 42.4%, p&lt;0.001). Participants in HICs were more likely to report not feeling fully recovered (54.3% vs 18.0%, p&lt;0.001; 56.8% vs 40.1%, p&lt;0.001), fatigue (42.9% vs 27.9%, p&lt;0.001; 41.6% vs 27.9%, p&lt;0.001), new/persistent fever (19.6% vs 2.1%, p&lt;0.001; 20.3% vs 2.0%, p&lt;0.001) and have a higher prevalence of anxiety/depression and impact on usual activities compared with participants in LMICs at 2 to &lt;6 and 6 to &lt;12 months post-COVID-19 hospital discharge, respectively. Conclusion: Our data show that Long Covid affects populations globally, manifesting similar symptomatology and impact on functioning in both HIC and LMICs. The prevalence was higher in HICs versus LMICs. Although we identified a lower prevalence, the impact of Long Covid may be greater in LMICs if there is a lack of support systems available in HICs. Further research into the aetiology of Long Covid and the burden in LMICs is critical to implement effective, accessible treatment and support strategies to improve COVID-19 outcomes for all.
PB - BMJ Publishing Group
UR - https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/333096/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER