A Cross-Sectional Study of Symptom Prevalence, Frequency, Severity, and Impact of Long COVID in Scotland: Part I

IF 2.5 3区医学 Q1 MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

American Journal of Medicine Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1016/j.amjmed.2023.07.004

Marie Mclaughlin PhD , Luke Cerexhe MSc , Eilidh Macdonald BSc , Joanne Ingram PhD , Nilihan E.M. Sanal-Hayes PhD , Rachel Meach PhD , David Carless PhD , Nicholas Sculthorpe PhD

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Commonly reported symptoms of long COVID may have different patterns of prevalence and presentation across different countries. While some limited data have been reported for the United Kingdom, national specificity for Scotland is less clear. We present a cross-sectional survey to examine the symptom prevalence, frequency, and severity of long COVID for people living with the condition in Scotland.

Methods

An online survey was created in the English language and was available between April 21, 2022 and August 5, 2022. Participants were included if they were ≥18 years old, living in Scotland, and had self-diagnosed or confirmed long COVID; and excluded if they were hospitalized during their initial infection. Within this article we quantify symptom prevalence, frequency, severity, and duration.

Results

Participants (n = 253) reported the most prevalent long-COVID symptoms to be post-exertional malaise (95%), fatigue/tiredness (85%), and cognitive impairment (68%). Fatigue/tiredness, problems with activities of daily living (ADL), and general pain were most frequently occurring, while sleep difficulties, problems with ADL, and nausea were the most severe. Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation associated with symptom number, severity, and frequency, whereas vaccine status, age, sex, and smoking status had limited or no association.

Conclusions

These findings outline the challenges faced for those living with long COVID and highlight the need for longitudinal research to ascertain a better understanding of the condition and its longer-term societal impact.

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关于苏格兰长期慢性乙型肝炎的症状流行率、频率、严重程度和影响的横断面研究：第一部分

背景：在不同的国家，常报告的长 COVID 症状可能有不同的发病率和表现形式。虽然英国已报告了一些有限的数据，但苏格兰的全国特异性却不太清楚。我们进行了一项横断面调查，以研究苏格兰长COVID患者的症状流行率、频率和严重程度：我们用英语制作了一份在线调查，调查时间为 2022 年 4 月 21 日至 2022 年 8 月 5 日。参与者年龄≥18岁，居住在苏格兰，自我诊断或确诊患有长COVID；如果在初次感染时住院，则排除在外。在本文中，我们对症状发生率、频率、严重程度和持续时间进行了量化：结果：参与者（n = 253）报告最普遍的长期 COVID 症状是劳累后乏力（95%）、疲劳/疲倦（85%）和认知障碍（68%）。疲劳/疲倦、日常生活能力（ADL）问题和全身疼痛是最常出现的症状，而睡眠困难、日常生活能力问题和恶心则是最严重的症状。苏格兰多重贫困指数（Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation）与症状的数量、严重程度和频率有关，而与疫苗接种状况、年龄、性别和吸烟状况的关系有限或没有关系：这些研究结果概述了长期罹患 COVID 的患者所面临的挑战，并强调有必要开展纵向研究，以更好地了解这种疾病及其对社会的长期影响。

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

American Journal of Medicine 医学-医学：内科

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

3.40%

发文量

449

审稿时长

9 days

期刊介绍： The American Journal of Medicine - "The Green Journal" - publishes original clinical research of interest to physicians in internal medicine, both in academia and community-based practice. AJM is the official journal of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, a prestigious group comprising internal medicine department chairs at more than 125 medical schools across the U.S. Each issue carries useful reviews as well as seminal articles of immediate interest to the practicing physician, including peer-reviewed, original scientific studies that have direct clinical significance and position papers on health care issues, medical education, and public policy.