Variability in Long COVID Definitions and Validation of Published Prevalence Rates

Long COVID definitions vary widely, and no consensus exists on how to accurately measure its prevalence, complicating both clinical care and research.

To assess long COVID prevalence using various definitions from published literature.

This prospective, multicenter cohort study used data from the longitudinal Innovative Support for Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry (INSPIRE). Participants aged 18 years or older with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 illness at the time of their index SARS-CoV-2 test enrolled at 8 sites across the US from December 11, 2020, through August 29, 2022, with follow-up surveys collected through February 28, 2023.

Positive or negative SARS-CoV-2 test result at the time of acute symptoms.

Long COVID prevalence among INSPIRE participants with a positive vs negative index SARS-CoV-2 test, based on long COVID definitions in published literature. Secondary outcomes were sensitivity and specificity of published definitions compared with self-reported long COVID.

A total of 4575 INSPIRE participants were included (mean [SD] age, 40.40 [14.58] years). Most were female (3013 of 4448 [67.7%]) and aged 18 to 49 years (3338 of 4541 [73.5%]). Applying 5 published definitions for long COVID yielded a prevalence that ranged from 30.84% (95% CI, 29.33%-32.40%) to 42.01% (95% CI, 40.37%-43.66%) at 3 months and 14.23% (95% CI, 13.01%-15.55%) to 21.94% (95% CI, 20.47%-23.47%) at 6 months postinfection; in the 5 comparator studies, reported prevalence of long COVID at 1 to 5 months postinfection ranged from 2.6% (≥84 days) to 47.4% (3-5 months) and at 6 or more months postinfection ranged from 10.0% (95% CI, 8.8%-11.0%) to 61.9% (6-11 months). Using participants' self-reported long COVID as a criterion standard, existing published definitions had low-to-moderate sensitivity (up to 66.32% [95% CI, 62.59%-69.90%] at 3 months and 45.53% [95% CI, 41.51%-49.60%] at 6 months) and high specificity (up to 81.29% [95% CI, 79.32%-83.15%] at 3 months and 94.26% [95% CI, 92.98%-95.37%]) at 6 months.

In this cohort study, variability in long COVID prevalence across published definitions highlights the need for a standardized, validated definition to improve clinical recognition and research comparability, ultimately guiding more accurate diagnosis and treatment strategies.