Global Prevalence of Long COVID, Its Subtypes, and Risk Factors: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

IF 3.8 4区医学 Q2 IMMUNOLOGY

Open Forum Infectious Diseases Pub Date : 2025-08-30 eCollection Date: 2025-09-01 DOI:10.1093/ofid/ofaf533

Yiren Hou, Tian Gu, Zhouchi Ni, Xu Shi, Megan L Ranney, Bhramar Mukherjee

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: This mega-systematic review evaluated the global prevalence of long COVID and its subtypes and symptoms, and assessed the effects of risk factors for long COVID.

Methods: Studies published from 5 July 2021 to 29 May 2024 were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science, with supplemental updates on 23 July 2024. Data were pooled using a random-effects framework with DerSimonian-Laird estimator. Risk of bias analysis was conducted.

Results: A total of 429 studies were meta-analyzed. The global pooled long COVID prevalence was 36% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33%-40%) with 144 contributing studies. The highest prevalence rates were observed in South America (51% [95% CI, 35%-66%]). The prevalence of long COVID persisted over time, with 35% (95% CI, 31%-39%) at <1 year of follow-up and 46% (95% CI, 37%-57%) at 1-2 years. The most prevalent subtypes were respiratory (20% [95% CI, 14%-28%]) estimated from 31 studies, general fatigue (20% [95% CI, 18%-23%]) from 119 studies, psychological (18% [95% CI, 11%-28%]) from 10 studies, and neurological (16% [95% CI, 8%-30%]) from 23 studies. The 3 strongest risk factors were being unvaccinated for COVID-19 (pooled odds ratio [OR], 2.09 [95% CI, 1.55-2.81]) meta-analyzed from 7 studies, infections from pre-Omicron variants (OR, 1.74 [95% CI, 1.40-2.17]) from 6 studies, and female sex (OR, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.32-1.84]) from 33 studies.

Conclusions: Long COVID is globally prevalent after a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, highlighting a continuing health challenge. The heterogeneity of estimates across populations argues the need for well-designed follow-up studies that use consistent measures and are globally representative.

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全球长冠肺炎流行、亚型和风险因素：最新的系统综述和荟萃分析

背景：本大型系统综述评估了长冠状病毒及其亚型和症状的全球流行情况，并评估了长冠状病毒危险因素的影响。方法：检索PubMed、Embase和Web of Science中于2021年7月5日至2024年5月29日发表的研究，并于2024年7月23日进行补充更新。数据汇集使用随机效应框架与dersimonan - laird估计。进行偏倚风险分析。结果：共有429项研究进行了meta分析。全球合并的COVID长期患病率为36%(95%置信区间[CI]， 33%-40%)， 144项有贡献的研究。南美洲的患病率最高（51% [95% CI, 35%-66%]）。随着时间的推移，长冠状病毒的流行率持续存在，在结论中为35% (95% CI, 31%-39%)：在严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2感染后，长冠状病毒在全球流行，突出了持续的健康挑战。不同人群估计值的异质性表明，需要设计良好的后续研究，使用一致的测量方法，并具有全球代表性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Open Forum Infectious Diseases Medicine-Neurology (clinical)

CiteScore

6.70

自引率

4.80%

发文量

630

审稿时长

9 weeks

期刊介绍： Open Forum Infectious Diseases provides a global forum for the publication of clinical, translational, and basic research findings in a fully open access, online journal environment. The journal reflects the broad diversity of the field of infectious diseases, and focuses on the intersection of biomedical science and clinical practice, with a particular emphasis on knowledge that holds the potential to improve patient care in populations around the world. Fully peer-reviewed, OFID supports the international community of infectious diseases experts by providing a venue for articles that further the understanding of all aspects of infectious diseases.