This article is a Preprint
Preprints are preliminary research reports that have not been certified by peer review. They should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Preprints posted online allow authors to receive rapid feedback and the entire scientific community can appraise the work for themselves and respond appropriately. Those comments are posted alongside the preprints for anyone to read them and serve as a post publication assessment.
Symptoms compatible with long-COVID in healthcare workers with and without SARS-CoV-2 infection - results of a prospective multicenter cohort
Preprint
in English
| medRxiv
| ID: ppmedrxiv-21265187
Journal article
A scientific journal published article is available and is probably based on this preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
See journal article
A scientific journal published article is available and is probably based on this preprint. It has been identified through a machine matching algorithm, human confirmation is still pending.
See journal article
ABSTRACT
BackgroundThe burden of long-term symptoms (i.e. long-COVID) in patients after mild COVID-19 is debated. Within a cohort of healthcare workers (HCW), frequency and risk factors for symptoms compatible with long-COVID are assessed. MethodsParticipants answered baseline (August/September 2020) and weekly questionnaires on SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) results and acute disease symptoms. In January 2021, SARS-CoV-2 serology was performed; in March, symptoms compatible with long-COVID (including psychometric scores) were asked and compared between HCW with positive NPS, seropositive HCW without positive NPS (presumable a-/pauci-symptomatic infections), and negative controls. Also, the effect of time since diagnosis and quantitative anti-S was evaluated. Poisson regression was used to identify risk factors for symptom occurrence. ResultsOf 3334 HCW (median 41 years; 80% female), 556 (17%) had a positive NPS and 228 (7%) were only seropositive. HCW with positive NPS more frequently reported [≥]1 symptom compared to controls (73%vs.52%, p<0.001); seropositive HCW without positive NPS did not score higher than controls (58%vs.52%, p=0.13), although impaired taste/olfaction (16%vs.6%, p<0.001) and hair loss (17%vs.10%, p=0.004) were more common. Exhaustion/burnout was reported by 24% of negative controls. Many symptoms remained elevated in those diagnosed >6 months ago; anti-S titers correlated with high symptom scores. Acute viral symptoms in weekly questionnaires best predicted long-COVID symptoms. Physical activity at baseline was negatively associated with neurocognitive impairment and fatigue scores. ConclusionsSeropositive HCW without positive NPS are only mildly affected by long-COVID. Exhaustion/burnout is common, even in non-infected HCW. Physical activity might be protective against neurocognitive impairment/fatigue symptoms after COVID-19. summaryIn this prospective healthcare worker cohort, participants with SARS-CoV-2-positive nasopharyngeal swab were most likely to report long-COVID symptoms, whereas seropositive participants without positive swab were only mildly affected. Physical activity at baseline was negatively associated with neurocognitive impairment and fatigue.
cc_by_nc_nd
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Preprints
Database:
medRxiv
Type of study:
Cohort_studies
/
Experimental_studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document type:
Preprint
