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. 2021 Aug:109:203-208.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.06.063. Epub 2021 Jul 2.

Prevalence of, and factors associated with, long-term COVID-19 sick leave in working-age patients followed in general practices in Germany

Louis Jacob  1 , Ai Koyanagi  2 , Lee Smith  3 , Christian Tanislav  4 , Marcel Konrad  5 , Susanne van der Beck  6 , Karel Kostev  7
Affiliations

Prevalence of, and factors associated with, long-term COVID-19 sick leave in working-age patients followed in general practices in Germany

Louis Jacob et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of, and the factors associated with, long-term sick leave in working-age patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in general practices in Germany.

Methods: Patients aged 18-65 years diagnosed with COVID-19 in any of 1255 general practices in Germany between March 2020 and February 2021 were included in the study. Long-term sick leave was defined as sick leave of at least 4 weeks. The association between predefined independent variables and long-term sick leave was studied using an adjusted logistic regression model.

Results: This study included 30 950 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (51.7% women, mean (standard deviation) age 41.5 (±13.0) years). The prevalence of long-term sick leave was 5.8%. Female sex, older age, and several conditions (noninfective enteritis and colitis; reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders; atopic dermatitis; mononeuropathies; reflux diseases; diabetes mellitus; and hypertension) were positively and significantly associated with long-term sick leave.

Conclusion: Long-term sick leave was relatively rare in COVID-19 patients followed in general practices in Germany. These results should be confirmed or invalidated in other settings and countries.

Keywords: COVID-19; Germany; coronavirus disease; general practices; long-term sick leave.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection of study patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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