Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in a non-hospitalized cohort: Results from the Arizona CoVHORT

• Main Authors: Melanie L. Bell, Collin J. Catalfamo, Leslie V. Farland, Kacey C. Ernst, Elizabeth T. Jacobs, Yann C. Klimentidis, Megan Jehn, Kristen Pogreba-Brown
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8336814/?tool=EBI

Clinical presentation, outcomes, and duration of COVID-19 has ranged dramatically. While some individuals recover quickly, others suffer from persistent symptoms, collectively known as long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). Most PASC research has focused on hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe disease. We used data from a diverse population-based cohort of Arizonans to estimate prevalence of PASC, defined as experiencing at least one symptom 30 days or longer, and prevalence of individual symptoms. There were 303 non-hospitalized individuals with a positive lab-confirmed COVID-19 test who were followed for a median of 61 days (range 30–250). COVID-19 positive participants were mostly female (70%), non-Hispanic white (68%), and on average 44 years old. Prevalence of PASC at 30 days post-infection was 68.7% (95% confidence interval: 63.4, 73.9). The most common symptoms were fatigue (37.5%), shortness-of-breath (37.5%), brain fog (30.8%), and stress/anxiety (30.8%). The median number of symptoms was 3 (range 1–20). Amongst 157 participants with longer follow-up (≥60 days), PASC prevalence was 77.1%.