Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan 18;12(1):99.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines12010099.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Long COVID Symptoms among U.S. Adults, 2022

Kimberly H Nguyen  1   2 , Yingjun Bao  3 , Julie Mortazavi  3 , Jennifer D Allen  4 , Patricia O Chocano-Bedoya  5 , Laura Corlin  3   6
Affiliations

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Long COVID Symptoms among U.S. Adults, 2022

Kimberly H Nguyen et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Long COVID and its symptoms have not been examined in different subpopulations of U.S. adults. Using the 2022 BRFSS (n = 445,132), we assessed long COVID and each symptom by sociodemographic characteristics and health-related variables. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to examine factors associated with long COVID and the individual symptoms. Prevalence differences were conducted to examine differences in long COVID by vaccination status. Overall, more than one in five adults who ever had COVID-19 reported symptoms consistent with long COVID (21.8%). The most common symptom was tiredness or fatigue (26.2%), followed by difficulty breathing or shortness of breath (18.9%), and loss of taste or smell (17.0%). Long COVID was more common among adults under 65 years, women, American Indian or Alaska Native or other/multi race group, smokers, and people with a disability, depression, overweight or obesity compared to their respective counterparts. The prevalence of long COVID was higher among unvaccinated adults (25.6%) than vaccinated adults (21.6%) overall, and for 20 of 32 subgroups assessed. These findings underscore the benefits of vaccination, the importance of early treatment, and the need to better inform health care resource allocation and support services for those experiencing long COVID.

Keywords: COVID-19 outcomes; COVID-19 vaccination; adults; disparities; long COVID; symptoms; vaccine confidence; vaccine hesitancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. WHO Statement on the Fifteenth Meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic. 2023. [(accessed on 3 October 2023)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news/item/05-05-2023-statement-on-the-fifteenth-meet....
    1. Nations U. WHO Chief Declares End to COVID-19 as a Global Health Emergency. 2023. [(accessed on 17 September 2023)]. Available online: https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367.
    1. CDC COVID Data Tracker. [(accessed on 22 December 2023)];2023 Available online: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home.
    1. CDC Long COVID or Post-COVID Conditions. [(accessed on 1 December 2023)];2023 Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html.
    1. WHO A Clinical Case Definition of Post COVID-19 Condition by a Delphi Consencus 2021. [(accessed on 2 December 2023)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_cond....