Overlapping conditions in Long COVID at a multisite academic center

Area of Science:

• Medical Research
• Infectious Diseases
• Post-viral Syndromes

Background:

• Persistent symptoms after COVID-19 are known as Long COVID (LC).
• Identifying new or worsening comorbidities in LC patients is crucial for understanding the syndrome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel, self-reported comorbidities that are new or have worsened in patients with Long COVID.
• To investigate the overlap between Long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), generalized joint hypermobility (GJH), and orthostatic intolerance.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 732 patients diagnosed with LC and a control group of SARS-CoV-2 patients without LC.
• Questionnaires were administered to assess new/worsened comorbidities and screen for ME/CFS, GJH, and orthostatic intolerance.
• Response rates were 33.7% for LC patients (n=247) and 50% for controls (n=40).

Main Results:

• LC patients reported significantly higher prevalence of new/worsened pain (94.4%), neurological (92.4%), sleep (82.8%), skin (69.8%), and genitourinary (60.6%) issues compared to controls.
• 58% of LC patients screened positive for ME/CFS, 27% for GJH, and showed an average orthostatic intolerance score of 4.0, all significantly higher than controls.
• The majority of LC patients experiencing ME/CFS were women (77%).

Conclusions:

• SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased comorbidities across multiple categories in patients with Long COVID.
• The findings support a significant overlap between Long COVID, ME/CFS, GJH, and orthostatic intolerance.
• Further research into the pathophysiologic, clinical, and research implications of these overlapping conditions is warranted.