Prevalence of and risk factors for post-COVID: Results from a survey of 6,958 patients from Brazil

Abstract

A plethora of prolonged COVID-19 symptoms, or late manifestations has been reported after acute disease and labeled “post-COVID”. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of and risk factors for post-COVID up to 12 weeks after the onset of acute COVID-19. An electronic survey was conducted to evaluate post-COVID-19 symptoms, disease severity, demographics, and pre-existing diseases. The participants were recruited through 88,648 SMS messages, and post on social media. The associations between variables were explored through multivariate models. From 6,958 respondents with confirmed COVID-19, 753 (10.8%) required hospitalization, and 5,791 (83.2%) exhibited at least one post-COVID manifestation. Hair loss (49.4%), memory loss (40.7%), low attention (37.0%), fatigue (34.2%), anxiety (31.2%), and headache (29.6%) were the most reported post-COVID manifestations. Female sex, myalgia, anosmia, and severe disease were associated with most post-COVID manifestations. Pre-existing depression was associated with the development of neuropsychiatric manifestations. Post-COVID manifestations were identified in most patients following COVID-19 infection, placing a supplementary burden on the healthcare system. Hair loss, fatigue, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were the most prevalent post-COVID manifestations. Female sex, myalgia, anosmia, and more severe disease are risk factors for multiple post-COVID manifestations.