Table 1.
Characteristics of individuals with long COVID at baseline and for follow-up.
| Whole cohort |
Follow-up group |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristic | Baseline(n = 536) | Baseline(n = 331) | Follow-up(n = 331) | p value (baseline vs. follow-up visits) |
| Age (years) | 45 (11) | 46 (11) | 47 (11) | – |
| Sex (n females) | 389 (73%) | 241 (73%) | 241 (73%) | – |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25 (23, 29) | 26 (23, 30) | 26 (23,31) | 0.269 |
| Ethnicity | – | |||
| White | 477 (89%) | 295 (89%) | 295 (89%) | |
| Mixed | 21 (4%) | 12 (4%) | 3 (1%) | |
| South Asian | 24 (4%) | 17 (5%) | 15 (5%) | |
| Black | 13 (2%) | 6 (2%) | 5 (2%) | |
| Healthcare worker | 172 (32%) | 112 (34%) | 112 (34%) | No change |
| At least one COVID-19 vaccination | 10 (2%) | 5 (2%) | 197 (60%) | <0.001 |
| Co-morbidities and risks | ||||
| Smoking | ||||
| Never | 349 (65%) | 218 (66%) | 222 (67%) | 0.221 |
| Current | 14 (3%) | 7 (2%) | 7 (2%) | >0.999 |
| Ex-smoker | 172 (32%) | 106 (32%) | 102 (31%) | 0.343 |
| BMI | ||||
| ≥25 kg/m2 | 293 (55%) | 200 (60%) | 200 (61%) | >0.999 |
| ≥30 kg/m2 | 120 (22%) | 91 (27%) | 92 (28%) | 0.789 |
| Hypertension | 44 (8%) | 33 (10%) | 37 (11%) | 0.221 |
| Diabetes | 10 (2%) | 7 (2%) | 9 (3%) | 0.683 |
| Heart disease | 9 (2%) | 4 (1%) | 4 (1%) | No change |
| Asthma | 101 (19%) | 62 (19%) | 56 (17%) | 0.114 |
| Hospitalised during acute COVID-19 | 72 (13%) | 57 (17%) | 57 (17%) | – |
| Time off work (days) | 56 (14, 180) | 58 (14, 150) | 125 (35, 296) | <0.001 |
| 15 common symptoms | ||||
| Number reported (median (IQR)) | 10 (8, 11) | 10 (8, 11) | 3 (0, 5) | <0.001 |
| None reported in history | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 93 (28%) | <0.001 |
| None reported in history/questionnaires | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 60 (19%) | <0.001 |
| Symptom groups | ||||
| Systemic | 245 (46%) | 159 (48%) | 2 (1%) | <0.001 |
| Cardiopulmonary | 238 (44%) | 143 (43%) | 15 (5%) | <0.001 |
| Severe breathlessness (dyspnoea 12 ≥ 10) | 187 (36%) | 120 (38%) | 93 (30%) | 0.016 |
| Cognitive dysfunction | 268 (50%) | 160 (48%) | 127 (38%) | 0.005 |
| Poor HRQoL | 281 (55%) | 181 (57%) | 138 (45%) | <0.001 |
| Less common symptoms only | 66 (13%) | 37 (12%) | 108 (35%) | <0.001 |
| Duration (days: median, (IQR)) | ||||
| Initial symptoms-to-assessment | 182 (132, 222) | 170 (126, 208) | 384 (350, 431) | – |
| COVID-19 positive-to-assessment | 110 (53, 175) | 110 (53, 170) | 328 (265, 375) | – |
| Organ impairment | ||||
| Liver | 151 (29%) | 119 (36%) | 106 (33%) | 0.153 |
| Heart | 102 (19%) | 71 (22%) | 70 (21%) | >0.999 |
| Kidney | 79 (15%) | 60 (18%) | 56 (17%) | 0.583 |
| Pancreas | 100 (20%) | 80 (26%) | 56 (22%) | 0.201 |
| Lungs | 12 (2%) | 7 (2%) | 5 (2%) | >0.999 |
| Spleen | 43 (8%) | 33 (10%) | 29 (9%) | 0.453 |
| ≥1 organ | 314 (59%) | 228 (69%) | 194 (59%) | <0.001 |
| ≥2 organs | 122 (23%) | 97 (29%) | 88 (27%) | 0.336 |
p-values represent results from a paired t-test (or non-parametric equivalent), McNemar’s test for categorical and dichotomous variables.
IQR: interquartile range; BMI: body mass index; HRQoL: health-related quality of life.