As more persons are exposed to and infected by SARS-CoV-2, reports of patients who experience persistent symptoms or organ dysfunction after acute COVID-19 and develop post-COVID conditions have increased, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
COVID-19 survivors have twice the risk for developing pulmonary embolism or respiratory conditions; one in five COVID-19 survivors aged 18–64 years and one in four survivors aged ≥65 years experienced at least one incident condition that might be attributable to previous COVID-19.
Implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies, as well as routine assessment for post-COVID conditions among persons who survive COVID-19, is critical to reducing the incidence and impact of post-COVID conditions, particularly among adults aged ≥65 years. An estimated 38% of COVID-19 survivors experienced at least one condition that might be attributable to a previous COVID-19 infection, compared with 16% of other patients.
The findings from this analysis of a large EHR-based database of U.S. adults indicated that COVID-19 survivors were significantly more likely than were control patients to have incident conditions that might be attributable to previous COVID-19. One in five COVID-19 survivors aged 18–64 years and one in four survivors aged ≥65 years experienced at least one incident condition that might be attributable to previous COVID-19. Independent of age group, the highest RRs were for acute pulmonary embolism and respiratory symptoms.
These findings are consistent with those from several large studies that indicated that post-COVID incident conditions occur in 20%–30% of patients (6,7), and that a proportion of patients require expanded follow-up care after the initial infection. COVID-19 severity and illness duration can affect patients’ healthcare needs and economic well-being (8). The occurrence of incident conditions following infection might also affect a patient’s ability to contribute to the workforce and might have economic consequences for survivors and their dependents, particularly among adults aged 18–64 years (5). In addition, care requirements might place a strain on health services after acute illness in communities that experience heavy COVID-19 case surges.
COVID-19 survivors aged ≥65 years in this study were at increased risk for neurologic conditions, as well as for four of five mental health conditions (mood disorders, other mental conditions, anxiety, and substance-related disorders). Neurocognitive symptoms have been reported to persist for up to 1 year after acute infection and might persist longer (9). Overall, 45.4% of survivors aged ≥65 years in this study had incident conditions. Among adults aged ≥65 years, who are already at higher risk for stroke and neurocognitive impairment, post-COVID conditions affecting the nervous system are of particular concern because these conditions can lead to early entry into supportive services or investment of additional resources into care (10).
The findings in this study are subject to at least five limitations. First, patient data were limited to those seen at facilities serviced by Cerner EHR network during January 2020–November 2021; therefore, the findings might not be representative of the entire U.S. adult population or of COVID-19 case patients infected with recent variants. Second, the incidence of new conditions after an acute COVID-19 infection might be biased toward a population that is seeking care, either as a follow-up to a previous complaint (including COVID-19) or for another medical complaint, which might result in a “sicker” control group leading to underestimation of observed risk. Third, COVID-19 vaccination status was not considered in this analysis, nor were potentially confounding factors (e.g., SARS-CoV-2 variant, sex, race, ethnicity, healthcare entity, or geographic region), because data were not available, were inconsistent, or included a high proportion of missing or unknown values; for example, data were not matched by data contributors, so controls were not necessarily from the same healthcare entity or region of the country. Differences between the groups might influence the risks associated with survival from COVID-19 and incident conditions, which require further study. Fourth, International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes were used to identify COVID-19 case-patients, and misclassification of controls is possible. However, the inclusion of laboratory data to identify case-patients and exclude controls helped to limit the potential for such misclassification. Finally, the study only assessed conditions thought to be attributable to COVID-19 or post-COVID illness, which might have biased RRs away from the null. For example, clinicians might have been more likely to document possible post-COVID conditions among case-patients. In addition, because several conditions examined are also risk factors for moderate to severe COVID-19, it is possible that case-patients were more likely to have had an existing condition that was not documented in their EHR during the year preceding their COVID-19 diagnosis, resulting in overestimated risk for this group.
As the cumulative number of persons ever having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 increases, the number of survivors suffering post-COVID conditions is also likely to increase. Therefore, implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies, as well as routine assessment for post-COVID conditions among persons who survive COVID-19, is critical to reducing the incidence and impact of post-COVID conditions, particularly among adults aged ≥65 years (2). These findings can increase awareness for post-COVID conditions and improve post-acute care and management of patients after illness. Further investigation is warranted to understand the pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with increased risk for post-COVID conditions, including by age and type of condition.
