Long COVID in a prospective cohort of home-isolated patients.

Bjørn Blomberg, Kristin Greve-Isdahl Mohn, Karl Albert Brokstad, Fan Zhou, Dagrun Waag Linchausen, Bent-Are Hansen, Sarah Lartey, Therese Bredholt Onyango, Kanika Kuwelker, Marianne Sævik, Hauke Bartsch, Camilla Tøndel, Bård Reiakvam Kittang, Rebecca Jane Cox, Nina Langeland

Journal: Nature medicine 2021;27(9):1607-1613

PMID: 34163090

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Abstract

Long-term complications after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are common in hospitalized patients, but the spectrum of symptoms in milder cases needs further investigation. We conducted a long-term follow-up in a prospective cohort study of 312 patients-247 home-isolated and 65 hospitalized-comprising 82% of total cases in Bergen during the first pandemic wave in Norway. At 6 months, 61% (189/312) of all patients had persistent symptoms, which were independently associated with severity of initial illness, increased convalescent antibody titers and pre-existing chronic lung disease. We found that 52% (32/61) of home-isolated young adults, aged 16-30 years, had symptoms at 6 months, including loss of taste and/or smell (28%, 17/61), fatigue (21%, 13/61), dyspnea (13%, 8/61), impaired concentration (13%, 8/61) and memory problems (11%, 7/61). Our findings that young, home-isolated adults with mild COVID-19 are at risk of long-lasting dyspnea and cognitive symptoms highlight the importance of infection control measures, such as vaccination.

Address: Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; National Advisory Unit for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Influenza Centre, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Broegelmann Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Safety, Chemistry and Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.; Influenza Centre, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Bergen Municipality Emergency Clinic, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Medicine, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; National Advisory Unit for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Influenza Centre, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre, Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Informatics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Paediatrics, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Research and Innovation, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Department of Medicine, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital, Bergen, Norway.; Influenza Centre, Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; Department of Microbiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; National Advisory Unit for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].; Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01433-3

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MeSH Terms: Adolescent, Adult, Ageusia, Anosmia, Antibodies, Viral, COVID-19, Child, Child, Preschool, Cognitive Dysfunction, Dyspnea, Fatigue, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Middle Aged, Norway, Patient Isolation, Prospective Studies, SARS-CoV-2, Severity of Illness Index, Young Adult, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome