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Clin Infect Dis
. 2022 Dec 27;ciac966.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac966. Online ahead of print.
Three-month symptom profiles among symptomatic adults with positive and negative SARS-CoV-2 tests: a prospective cohort study from the INSPIRE group
Erica S Spatz 1 , Michael Gottlieb 2 , Lauren E Wisk 3 , Jill Anderson 4 , Anna Marie Chang 5 , Nicole L Gentile 6 , Mandy J Hill 7 , Ryan M Huebinger 7 , Ahamed H Idris 8 , Jeremiah Kinsman 9 , Katherine Koo 10 , Shu-Xia Li 11 , Samuel McDonald 12 , Ian D Plumb 13 , Robert Rodriguez 14 , Sharon Saydah 13 , Benjamin Slovis 5 , Kari A Stephens 15 , Elizabeth R Unger 16 , Ralph C Wang 14 , Huihui Yu 11 , Bala Hota 17 , Joann G Elmore 3 , Robert A Weinstein 18 , Arjun Venkatesh 19
Affiliations
- PMID: 36573005
- DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac966
Abstract
Background: Long-term symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection are a major concern, yet their prevalence is poorly understood.
Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study comparing adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID+) with adults who tested negative (COVID-), enrolled within 28 days of an FDA-approved SARS-CoV2 test result for active symptoms. Sociodemographic characteristics, symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection (assessed with the CDC Person Under Investigation Symptom List), and symptoms of post-infectious syndromes (i.e., fatigue, sleep quality, muscle/joint pains, unrefreshing sleep, and dizziness/fainting, assessed with CDC Short Symptom Screener for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) were assessed at baseline and 3 months via electronic surveys sent via text or email.
Results: Among the first 1,000 participants, 722 were COVID + and 278 were COVID-. Mean age was 41.5 (SD 15.2); 66.3% were female, 13.4% were Black, and 15.3% were Hispanic. At baseline, SARS-CoV-2 symptoms were more common in the COVID + group than the COVID - group. At 3-months, SARS-CoV-2 symptoms declined in both groups although were more prevalent in the COVID + group: upper respiratory symptoms/head/eyes/ears/nose/throat (HEENT; 37.3% vs 20.9%), constitutional (28.8% vs 19.4%), musculoskeletal (19.5% vs 14.7%), pulmonary (17.6% vs 12.2%), cardiovascular (10.0% vs 7.2%), and gastrointestinal (8.7% vs 8.3%); only 50.2% and 73.3% reported no symptoms at all. Symptoms of post-infectious syndromes were similarly prevalent among the COVID + and COVID - groups at 3 months.
Conclusions: Approximately half of COVID + participants, as compared with one-quarter of COVID - participants, had at least one SARS-CoV-2 symptom at 3 months, highlighting the need for future work to distinguish Long COVID.
Keywords: COVID-19; Long COVID; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; outcomes; registry.