Estimating Long COVID-19 Prevalence Across Definitions and Forms of Sample Selection

    May 2025 in “ Frontiers in Epidemiology ”
    Pietro Giorgio Lovaglio, Fabio Borgonovo, A. Margiotta, Mohamed Abdelbary Wafa Mowafy, Marta Colaneri, Alessandra Bandera, Andrea Gori, Amedeo Capetti
    TLDR Standardized definitions and better methods are needed to accurately estimate long COVID-19 prevalence.
    This study at Luigi Sacco Hospital in Milan analyzed 3,344 COVID-19 patients to estimate long COVID (LC) prevalence, finding it varied from 67.4% to 80.2% depending on the definition used. Common symptoms included fatigue, dyspnea, and joint/muscle pain. Risk factors were female sex, metabolic disease, and older age, while antiplatelets, statins, and hypoglycemics were protective. The study highlighted the impact of selection bias and the need for standardized LC definitions and improved methods. It supports targeted interventions and calls for further research to refine LC prevalence estimates and explore long-term health outcomes.
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