Long COVID linked to increased sick leave rates

In a recent study posted on medrex sib*Preprint server, Danish researchers examined the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and sick leave after acute infection.

study: Covid-19 and acute post-illness leave: a hybrid registration and questionnaire survey in the Danish adult populationImage Credit: OlivierLeMoal/Shutterstock.com

*Important Notices: medrex sib We publish a non-peer-reviewed, preliminary scientific report and should not be taken as conclusive, to guide clinical practice/health-related actions, or to be treated as established information.

Background

Long-term COVID is defined as the persistence of symptoms after the acute phase in people previously infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is estimated that up to 20% of infected individuals develop prolonged COVID.

A previous study identified sick leave as a potential indicator of extended absence. COVID-symptoms in denmark. Still, the extent to which these symptoms translate to work capacity is poorly defined.

About research

In the present study, researchers evaluated the association between COVID-19 and sick leave after acute infection in the Danish adult population.

Using data from the nationwide EFTER-COVID (AFTER-COVID) survey, which began in August 2021, we assessed public health during the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on COVID over the long term.

Residents of Denmark were invited to participate via the national digital mail system based on SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results from the Danish Microbiology Database.

Negative test controls with no positive test results in the database at any time before the study was randomly selected. This analysis included a participant surveyed 9 months after his RT-PCR test. Survey data were combined with registry-based data on age, sex, vaccination, COVID-19 test results, reinfection, and comorbidities.

The questionnaire was designed to obtain information on participants’ baseline characteristics and sick leave between test and survey days. The team obtained data on inpatient and outpatient diagnoses from the Danish National Patient Register (DNPR).

All participants were asked if they had taken sick leave at or after the test. Those who answered “yes” were asked to indicate the duration of their vacation and whether it was part-time or full-time.

The prevalence of substantial full-time or part-time sick leave, i.e., full-time or part-time sick leave >4 weeks after infection, was measured between test-positive and -negative subjects using risk differences. compared.

findings

Overall, 106,917 out of 294,035 invitees completed the survey nine months after COVID-19 testing. After exclusion, the study population consisted of his 88,818 participants, including 37,482 of hers who were SARS-CoV-2 positive. They were 45 years old on average. Most participants (64.3%) were female.

Less than 1% received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. About 16.6% of the participants were obese. Depression, anxiety, and hypertension were other common pre-existing conditions. .

It was similar across control age groups but increased with the age of infected participants. In contrast, 1.6% of those who did not take vacation were diagnosed. Infected individuals were at greater risk of taking substantial full-time sick leave than controls.

The risk difference decayed when net sick leave increased, defined as at least 6 months. The risk difference was higher for females than for males and greater for her 50+ individuals than for the general population. The risk differences were greatest in those with fibromyalgia, common obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other lung diseases, and diabetes.

Healthcare workers were at greater risk than the general population. Infected individuals were also more likely than controls to take substantial part-time sick leave.

However, for those 50 years and older, the risk of substantial part-time sick leave was lower than that of substantial full-time sick leave, but similar to the general population.

Conclusion

The team noted that individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at increased risk of taking substantial sick leave. More than a fifth of her infected had a long-term diagnosis of COVID. The main limitations of this study include the self-report design and potential recall bias.

Additionally, the duration of sick leave was not solely attributable to prolonged COVID, as the questionnaire captured general sick leave conditions. In addition, participation bias was likely, given that people with poor health and symptoms expressed interest in participation.

Taken together, the findings show that among subjects infected with SARS-CoV-2, an additional 33 per 1,000 were on significant sick leave between 1 and 9 months after acute infection compared with controls. This suggests that the Women, the elderly, and those with pre-existing conditions such as fibromyalgia, obesity, and COPD were most affected.

*Important Notices: medrex sib We publish a non-peer-reviewed, preliminary scientific report and should not be taken as conclusive, to guide clinical practice/health-related actions, or to be treated as established information.