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. 2023 Jul 19;13(1):11638.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38691-9.

The use of prescription drugs and health care services during the 6-month post-COVID-19 period

Kerli Mooses  1 , Kaarel Vesilind  2 , Marek Oja  2 , Sirli Tamm  2 , Markus Haug  2 , Ruth Kalda  3 , Kadri Suija  3 , Anna Tisler  3 , Tatjana Meister  3 , Maria Malk  2 , Anneli Uusküla  3 , Raivo Kolde  2
Affiliations

The use of prescription drugs and health care services during the 6-month post-COVID-19 period

Kerli Mooses et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

COVID-19 and other acute respiratory viruses can have a long-term impact on health. We aimed to assess the common features and differences in the post-acute phase of COVID-19 compared with other non-chronic respiratory infections (RESP) using population-based electronic health data. We applied the self-controlled case series method where prescription drugs and health care utilisation were used as indicators of health outcomes during the six-month-long post-acute period. The incidence rate ratios of COVID-19 and RESP groups were compared. The analysis included 146 314 individuals. Out of 5452 drugs analysed, 14 had increased administration after COVID-19 with drugs for cardiovascular diseases (trimetazidine, metoprolol, rosuvastatin) and psychotropic drugs (alprazolam, zolpidem, melatonin) being most prevalent. The health impact of COVID-19 was more apparent among females and individuals with non-severe COVID-19. The increased risk of exacerbating pre-existing conditions was observed for the COVID-19 group. COVID-19 vaccination did not have effect on drug prescriptions but lowered the health care utilisation during post-acute period. Compared with RESP, COVID-19 increased the use of outpatient services during the post-infection period. The long-term negative impact of COVID-19 on life quality must be acknowledged, and supportive health care and public health services provided.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Control and risk periods in the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adjusted incident rate ratios comparing incident and recurrent use of drugs in COVID-19 and RESP group in Estonia. Statistically significant differences according to Bonferroni correction between groups are presented in bold error bars.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Adjusted incidence rate ratios comparing incident (A) and recurrent (B) drug use in COVID-19 and RESP subgroups of Charlson Comorbidity Index (Charlson = 0 and Charlson > 0), hospitalisation during acute infection phase (hospitalised and non-hospitalised) and sex (male and female) in Estonia. Statistically significant differences between groups are presented in bold error bars.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adjusted incidence rate ratios comparing incident (A) and recurrent (B) drug use in age groups in COVID-19 and RESP groups in Estonia. Statistically significant differences between groups are presented in bold error bars.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Adjusted incidence rate ratios comparing inpatient and outpatient visits of COVID-19 and RESP group in main and subgroups during the post-COVID-19 period in Estonia. Statistically significant differences between groups are presented in bold error bars.
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