Prevalence and Description of Persisting Symptoms After COVID-19

A large observational Dutch study suggests post–COVID-19 conditions occur in 1 of 8 people.

Although many people experience physical and psychological symptoms after recovering from acute COVID-19, the extent of this problem remains unclear. Studies have relied on follow-up of hospitalized patients — yet most of those who have had COVID-19 experienced mild disease and were not hospitalized.

In this prospective observational study, investigators provided questionnaires to >75,000 adults in the Netherlands to assess 23 somatic symptoms between March 2020 and August 2021. Respondents with COVID-19 (5.5%) were matched by age, sex, and time period to COVID-19–negative controls; evaluation of symptom severity was repeated 24 times. Persistent symptoms at 90 to 150 days after COVID-19 diagnosis (compared with symptoms before diagnosis and…

Reviewing Author

Andrew S. Parsons, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardNEJM Healer Advisory Group; Aquifer Clinical Excellence; NBME Clinical Reasoning

Grant/Research SupportSouthern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA)

Editorial BoardsDiagnosis

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesUndergraduate Medical Education (UME) Section Chair, Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA); Chair of Early Career Physicians, American College of Physicians (ACP), Virginia Chapter

Andrew S. Parsons, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardNEJM Healer Advisory Group; Aquifer Clinical Excellence; NBME Clinical Reasoning

Grant/Research SupportSouthern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA)

Editorial BoardsDiagnosis

Prevalence and Description of Persisting Symptoms After COVID-19

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Reviewing Author