Characteristics and Prevalence of Sequelae after COVID-19: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
- Author:
Se Ju LEE
1
;
Yae Jee BAEK
;
Su Hwan LEE
;
Jung Ho KIM
;
Jin Young AHN
;
Jooyun KIM
;
Ji Hoon JEON
;
Hyeri SEOK
;
Won Suk CHOI
;
Dae Won PARK
;
Yunsang CHOI
;
Kyoung-Ho SONG
;
Eu Suk KIM
;
Hong Bin KIM
;
Jae-Hoon KO
;
Kyong Ran PECK
;
Jae-Phil CHOI
;
Jun Hyoung KIM
;
Hee-Sung KIM
;
Hye Won JEONG
;
Jun Yong CHOI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Infection and Chemotherapy 2025;57(1):72-80
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:The World Health Organization has declared the end of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. However, this did not indicate the end of COVID-19. Several months after the infection, numerous patients complain of respiratory or nonspecific symptoms; this condition is called long COVID. Even patients with mild COVID-19 can experience long COVID, thus the burden of long COVID remains considerable. Therefore, we conducted this study to comprehensively analyze the effects of long COVID using multi-faceted assessments.
Materials and Methods:We conducted a prospective cohort study involving patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 2020 and September 2021 in six tertiary hospitals in Korea. Patients were followed up at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after discharge. Long COVID was defined as the persistence of three or more COVID-19-related symptoms. The primary outcome of this study was the prevalence of long COVID after the period of COVID-19.
Results:During the study period, 290 patients were enrolled. Among them, 54.5 and 34.6% experienced long COVID within 6 months and after more than 18 months, respectively. Several patients showed abnormal results when tested for post-traumatic stress disorder (17.4%) and anxiety (31.9%) after 18 months. In patients who underwent follow-up chest computed tomography 18 months after COVID-19, abnormal findings remained at 51.9%. Males (odds ratio [OR], 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.05–0.53; P=0.004) and elderly (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00–1.09; P=0.04) showed a significant association with long COVID after 12–18 months in a multivariable logistic regression analysis.
Conclusion:Many patients still showed long COVID after 18 months post SARS-CoV-2 infection. When managing these patients, the assessment of multiple aspects is necessary.
