Post COVID-19 condition of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2

ABSTRACT

BackgroundNo epidemiological data on post coronavirus disease (COVID-19) condition due to Omicron variant has been reported yet. MethodsThis was as a single-center, cross-sectional study, that interviewed via telephone the patients who recovered from Omicron COVID-19 infection (Omicron group), and surveyed via self-reporting questionnaire those patients infected with other strains (control group). Data on patients characteristics, information regarding the acute-phase COVID-19, as well as presence and duration of COVID-19-related symptoms were obtained. Post COVID-19 condition in this study was defined as a symptom that lasted at least 2 months within 3 months since the onset of COVID-19. We investigated and compared the prevalence of post COVID-19 condition in both groups after performing propensity score matching. ResultsWe conducted interviews for 53 out of 128 patients with Omicron, and obtained 502 responses in the control group. After matching, 18 patients each in Omicron and control group had improved covariate balance of the older adult, female sex, obese patients, and vaccination status. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of each post-acute COVID-19 symptoms between the two groups. The numbers of patients with at least one post-acute COVID-19 symptom in the Omicron and the control group were 1 (5.6%) and 10 (55.6%) (p=0.003), respectively. ConclusionThe prevalence of post Omicron COVID-19 conditions was less than that of the other strains. Further research with more participants is needed to investigate the precise epidemiology of post COVID-19 condition of Omicron, and its impact on health-related quality of life and social productivity.