Baseline socioeconomic status predicting post-COVID-19 symptoms: Results from Isfahan COVID Cohort (ICC) study

Patients experience complications following their recovery from COVID-19, known as post-COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the association between baseline socioeconomic status (SES) and post-COVID-19 symptoms among hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients.

In the study, we used data from the Isfahan COVID Cohort (ICC) study, a 5-year longitudinal cohort study started from March 10, 2020. SES was measured using short form of SES questionnaire (SES-SQ), consisting of employment status, house room number, the number of trips taken, and using notebooks, laptop, or tablet in the house. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to examine the association between baseline SES and post-COVID-19 symptoms including general, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, adjusting for potential confounders.

Out of the 3912 patients included in the study, 66.4 % reported post-COVID-19 symptoms. There was an association between low SES and increased risk of post-COVID-19 cardiovascular symptoms in the whole population (HR = 1.15; 95 CI, 1.01-1.31, p = 0.039). Considering the hospitalization status revealed that hospitalized patients with low SES had a higher risk of experiencing post-COVID-19 cardiovascular symptoms (HR = 1.96; 95 CI, 1.23-3.12, p = 0.004), while in non-hospitalized, low SES patients a lower risk was observed (HR = 0.82; 95 CI, 0.70-0.97, p = 0.017). No significant association was found between SES and other post-COVID-19 symptoms including general and respiratory symptoms.

We concluded an association between higher SES and increased post-COVID-19 cardiovascular symptoms. Low SES was associated with higher risk of post-COVID-19 cardiovascular symptoms in hospitalized patients, while in non-hospitalized, it was associated with a lower risk.