Long COVID and New Onset Disability Nearly 2 Years After Initial Infection

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of ongoing long COVID symptoms and related disability in a population-based cohort nearly 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Six domains of age-standardized disability (i.e., mobility, cognition, independent living, vision, hearing, self-care) were assessed by ongoing long COVID status using cohort data from a population-based survey of adults with COVID-19 onset from March-December 2020 in Michigan. Baseline data were collected June 2020-October 2021 and follow-up data were collected January-November 2022. Associations between ongoing long COVID and each domain of disability were also examined using adjusted modified Poisson regression models. Analyses were conducted 2024-2025.

Nearly 2 years after initial infection, 24.0% of 1,547 respondents reported ongoing long COVID symptoms. When comparing disability status 4 weeks prior to COVID-19 illness to the time of the follow-up survey, respondents with ongoing long COVID symptoms had large increases in the prevalence of cognition (8.8% to 45.3%), mobility (12.7% to 40.0%), independent living (4.7% to 20.7%), and self-care (2.1% to 10.9%) disability, and more modest increases in the prevalence of vision and hearing disability. Respondents without ongoing long COVID symptoms experienced smaller increases in disability prevalence. In regression models, ongoing long COVID was associated with higher prevalence of all 6 disability domains.

The ongoing burden of long COVID and related disability is substantial and warrants increased attention by the public health and medical communities.