As of May 2022, about two million U.K. citizens have been living with symptoms of COVID-19 for three months or more after their initial infection. Despite these estimates, scientists still don’t have a firm understanding of the syndrome’s risk factors. A new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, has identified five factors that may influence who develops Long COVID and who doesn’t.*

What the researchers did

Researchers from University College London (UCL) aimed to better understand how widespread Long COVID is and why some people are more likely to develop post-COVID symptoms than others.

• Survey data of nearly 7,000 people from among 10 U.K. observational groups that had COVID-19 were gathered for analysis.
• In addition, electronic health records of over a million people with COVID-19 collected by spring 2021 were examined.

Notably, one of the 10 study groups was the Children of the Children of the 90s (COCO90s) group. The group consists of about 14,500 children born in the U.K. between 1991 and 1992 whom scientists have been following since that time. Some of those children now have children themselves, giving scientists the first opportunity to study several generations of families for health and social factors. In this case, researchers were able to observe participant health status before and after the worst of the pandemic.

What they found

The researchers found that between 7.8% and 17% of the participants in these 10 groups had symptoms of Long COVID lasting three months or longer, with 1.2% to 4.8% experiencing debilitating symptoms.

Based on data from these 10 groups and the electronic health records, they found what appear to be five (5) risk factors for Long COVID:

• Older age (1.2% of people in their 20s experienced debilitating symptoms versus 4.8% of people aged 50-60)
• Female sex
• Poor mental and general health prior to getting COVID-19
• Asthma
• Overweight or obesity

What it means

According to the researchers, the results suggest that people aged 50-60, women, and those with mental or physical health issues prior to the pandemic, such as psychological distress, asthma, and obesity, are at highest risk for Long COVID. Having this data enables those at high risk to make more informed decisions about their health, and take necessary actions regarding their lifestyle habits and medical care.

The research is part of the ongoing CONVALESCENCE Long COVID Study, and is the first of its kind in Long COVID research. Dr. Nishi Chaturvedi, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at University College London and head of the CONVALESCENCE study, is pleased with how the Children of the 90s study data have increased our understanding of Long COVID. “Further investigations into the cause of Long COVID should inform strategies to address the syndrome in the population,” she says.

CONVALESCENCE researchers have set up a public forum on their website, where they encourage people in the U.K. with Long COVID to offer their input on defining Long COVID and other research matters.

*University of Bristol. (2022, June 29). Children of the 90s study helps scientists pinpoint those most at risk of long COVID. Retrieved from https://www.mdlinx.com/news/children-of-the-90s-study-helps-scientists-pinpoint-those-most-at-risk-of-long-covid/5mPRGX8c6Toce9OJ1ta0x