TABLE 6.
Experiences and impact of Long COVID in different ongoing symptom severity groups.
| Now Recovered (R) (n = 27**) | Ongoing (Mild/Moderate) (C +) (n = 53) | Ongoing (Severe) (C + +) (n = 66) | Chi-square tests | |
| Identify as experiencing “Long COVID” | χ2(4) = 85.75, p < 0.001, V = 0.542 | |||
| Yes | 3 (11.1%) | 43 (81.1%) | 62 (93.9%) | |
| No | 16 (59.3%) | 2 (3.8%) | − | |
| Other | 8 (29.6%) | 8 (15.1%) | 4 (6.1%) | |
| Change of symptoms after initial illness | χ2(6) = 37.52, p < 0.001, V = 0.367 | |||
| No ongoing symptoms after initial recovery | 5 (18.5%) | − | − | |
| Different symptoms at different times | 8 (29.6%) | 28 (52.8%) | 39 (59.1%) | |
| Improvement in symptoms over time | 5 (18.5%) | 18 (34%) | 9 (13.6%) | |
| Symptoms have been very consistent | 3 (11.1%) | 7 (13.2%) | 17 (25.8%) | |
| I don’t know/N/A | 6 (22.2%) | − | 1 (1.5%) | |
| Cycle of symptoms after initial illness | n.s. | |||
| Cycle every few days | 3 (11.1%) | 11 (20.8%) | 14 (21.2%) | |
| Cycle every few weeks | 3 (11.1%) | 13 (24.5%) | 19 (28.8%) | |
| Cycle monthly | 2 (7.4%) | 7 (13.2%) | 9 (13.6%) | |
| No cycling | 12 (44.4%) | 19 (35.8%) | 23 (34.8%) | |
| N/A | 7 (25.9%) | 3 (5.7%) | 1 (1.5%) | |
| Impact of Long COVID | ||||
| Long period unable to work (due to illness) | 2 (7.4%) | 15 (28.3%) | 50 (75.8%) | χ2(2) = 46.42, p < 0.001, V = 0.564* |
| Difficulty coping day-to-day activities | 6 (22.2%) | 28 (52.8%) | 48 (72.7%) | χ2(2) = 20.23, p < 0.001, V = 0.372* |
| Difficulty getting medical professionals to take symptoms seriously | 1 (3.7%) | 21 (39.6%) | 38 (57.6%) | χ2(2) = 23.05, p < 0.001, V = 0.397* |
| Lost job due to illness | 1 (3.7%) | 9 (17%) | 32 (48.5%) | χ2(2) = 24.39, p < 0.001, V = 0.409* |
| Feeling that you have experienced a trauma | 4 (14.8%) | 21 (39.6%) | 31 (47%) | χ2(2) = 8.44, p = 0.015, V = 0.240 |
| Financial difficulty (as a result of illness) | 1 (3.7%) | 7 (13.2%) | 14 (21.2%) | n.s. |
| None of the above | 18 (66.7%) | 9 (17%) | 1 (1.5%) | χ2(2) = 52.73, p < 0.001, V = 0.601* |
*Denotes p-values below Sidak-correct alpha at 0.007 for the impact of Long COVID.
**Excluding a small portion of participants who reported asymptomatic or feeling completely better very quickly from the Recovered subgroup (n = 15).