Many people are experiencing COVID-related symptoms months after their first infection. Some population groups are more at risk, and general practitioners are playing a significant role in managing this burden.
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Based on Long COVID in a highly vaccinated but largely unexposed Australian population following the 2022 SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron wave: a cross‐sectional survey from Mulu Woldegiorgis, Gemma Cadby, Sera Ngeh, Rosemary Korda, Paul Armstrong, Jelena Maticevic, Paul Knight, Andrew Jardine, Lauren E Bloomfield, and Paul Effler, published March 2024.
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Of a sample of more than 11,000 Western Australians infected with the Omicron variant in 2022, 18 per cent had long COVID symptoms.
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Some 38 per cent of those with long COVID needed support from general practitioners in the two to three months following infection.
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More than one in six, around 18 per cent, of those with long COVID who previously worked hadn’t fully returned to work or study three months after their initial infection, compared to 2.7 per cent of those without long COVID.
In the highly vaccinated population whose first major exposure was to the Omicron variant in 2022, about 18 per cent of those who contracted the virus reported symptoms consistent with long COVID, a joint ANU-Western Australia Department of Health study has shown.
Long COVID was defined as being present when symptoms, which can include fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive dysfunction, persist three months after an acute COVID-19 episode.
The research measured the use of health services among those with long COVID. It found that in the month preceding the survey, taken two to three months after infection, around 38 per cent had visited general practitioners, around four per cent attended an emergency department, and 1.6 per cent were admitted to hospital, because of ongoing COVID symptoms.
When asked about their own health, most respondents with long COVID – around 60 per cent overall – rated their condition as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’. Only 1.4 per cent rated their health as ‘excellent’.
In contrast, nearly 60 per cent of those without long COVID rated their health as ‘good’ and 22.7 per cent said their health was ‘excellent’. Just 16 per cent rated their condition as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’.
Also, people with long COVID took longer to return to work and study after infection. Some 17.8 of those who were previously working or studying reduced the number of hours they did so – or had not returned at all – three months post-infection. Among respondents without long COVID, this number was 2.7 per cent.
The risk of developing long COVID was greater for some groups than others. Women, middle-aged and older people, and people with pre-existing health conditions were the most likely to have long COVID symptoms.
While many of these patterns had been found in overseas studies undertaken earlier in the pandemic, the survey confirmed that they were also present in a highly vaccinated Australian population.
People with long COVID took longer to return to work and study after infection. About 18 per cent reduced the number of hours – or had not returned at all – three months post-infection. Among respondents without long COVID, this number was 2.7 per cent.
