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. 2023 May 3;76(9):1636-1645.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac961.

The Epidemiology of Long Coronavirus Disease in US Adults

McKaylee M Robertson  1   2 , Saba A Qasmieh  1   2 , Sarah G Kulkarni  1 , Chloe A Teasdale  1   2 , Heidi E Jones  1   2 , Margaret McNairy  1   3 , Luisa N Borrell  2 , Denis Nash  1   2
Affiliations

The Epidemiology of Long Coronavirus Disease in US Adults

McKaylee M Robertson et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: We estimated the prevalence of long COVID and impact on daily living among a representative sample of adults in the United States.

Methods: We conducted a population-representative survey, 30 June-2 July 2022, of a random sample of 3042 US adults aged 18 years or older and weighted to the 2020 US population. Using questions developed by the UK's Office of National Statistics, we estimated the prevalence of long COVID, by sociodemographics, adjusting for gender and age.

Results: An estimated 7.3% (95% confidence interval: 6.1-8.5%) of all respondents reported long COVID, corresponding to approximately 18 828 696 adults. One-quarter (25.3% [18.2-32.4%]) of respondents with long COVID reported their day-to-day activities were impacted "a lot" and 28.9% had severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection more than 12 months ago. The prevalence of long COVID was higher among respondents who were female (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.84 [1.40-2.42]), had comorbidities (aPR: 1.55 [1.19-2.00]), or were not (vs were) boosted (aPR: 1.67 [1.19-2.34]) or not vaccinated (vs boosted) (aPR: 1.41 [1.05-1.91]).

Conclusions: We observed a high burden of long COVID, substantial variability in prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and risk factors unique from SARS-CoV-2 risk, suggesting areas for future research. Population-based surveys are an important surveillance tool and supplement to ongoing efforts to monitor long COVID.

Keywords: COVID-19; epidemiology; long COVID; long-haul COVID-19; post-COVID-19 syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. D. N. receives support from Pfizer (grants or contracts) and AbbVie (consulting fees). D. N. also reports grants from or contracts with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), New York State AIDS Institute, and New York City Council, all paid to their institution. M. M. R. and S. G. K. receive support from Pfizer, and both also report grants or contracts from NIH and the New York City Council, unrelated to this work and paid to their institution. H. E. J. reports grants or contracts unrelated to this work from NIH, paid to their institution. M. M. reports grants or contracts paid to their institution, unrelated to this work, from the NIH. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

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