Long COVID in the Long Run-23-Month Follow-up Study of Persistent Symptoms.

Symptoms of long coronavirus disease (COVID) were found in 38% of 170 patients followed for a median of 22.6 months. The most prevalent symptoms were fatigue, affected taste and smell, and difficulties remembering and concentrating. Predictors for long COVID were older age and number of symptoms in the acute phase. Long COVID may take many months, maybe years, to resolve.

Prevalence of long COVID in a national cohort: longitudinal measures from disease onset until 8 months' follow-up.

OBJECTIVES: Persistence of COVID-19 symptoms in nonhospitalized individuals beyond a few months has not been well characterized. In this longitudinal study from the Faroe Islands, we present prevalence of long COVID in mainly nonhospitalized patients who were followed up for up to 8 months. METHODS: All Faroese individuals with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis from August to December 2020 were invited to participate in this study (n = 297). Demographic and clinical characteristics and self-reported symptoms were ascertained prospectively using a detailed questionnaire administered at repeated phone interviews. RESULTS: A total of 226 individuals participated at baseline (226/297, 76% participation rate), of whom 170 participants had more than 3 months follow-up. Of these, 39% (n = 67/170, 95% confidence interval [CI] 32-37%) reported persistent symptoms (median [range] 168 [93-231] days) after the acute phase and 8% (n = 14/170, 95% CI 5-13%) reported severe persistent symptoms. The most prevalent symptoms were fatigue (17%) and smell (17%) and taste (14%) dysfunction. Long COVID was more common in people reporting daily medication use (odds ratio 2.34, 95% CI 1.02-5.37). CONCLUSION: Our results show that symptoms may take months to resolve, even among nonhospitalized individuals, with a mild illness in the acute phase. Continued monitoring for long COVID is needed to evaluate the added risk of a potential public health concern.

Long COVID in the Faroe Islands: A Longitudinal Study Among Nonhospitalized Patients.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about long-term recovery from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease, especially in nonhospitalized individuals. In this longitudinal study we present symptoms registered during the acute phase as well as long COVID (ie, long-lasting COVID-19 symptoms) in patients from the Faroe Islands. METHODS: All consecutive patients with confirmed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction testing from April to June 2020 were invited to participate in this study for the assessment of long COVID. Demographic and clinical characteristics and self-reported acute and persistent symptoms were assessed using a standardized detailed questionnaire administered at enrollment and at repeated phone interviews in the period 22 April to 16 August. RESULTS: Of the 180 participants (96.3% of the 187 eligible COVID-19 patients), 53.1% reported persistence of at least 1 symptom after a mean of 125 days after symptoms onset, 33.0% reported 1 or 2 symptoms, and 20.1% reported 3 or more symptoms. At the last follow-up, 46.9% were asymptomatic compared with 4.4% during the acute phase. The most prevalent persistent symptoms were fatigue, loss of smell and taste, and arthralgias. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that it might take months for symptoms to resolve, even among nonhospitalized persons with mild illness course in the acute phase. Continued monitoring for long COVID is needed.