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Publications

Journal Article Epublish 4 citations

PubMed: 40223130 DOI: 10.1038/s43856-025-00846-2

A multidimensional network of factors associated with long COVID in the French population.

Commun Med (Lond) 5(1):114

Authors: Joël Coste, Cyrille Delpierre, Olivier Robineau, Melissa Rushyizekera, Jean-Baptiste Richard, Caroline Alleaume, Anne Gallay, Sarah Tebeka, Olivier Steichen, Cédric Lemogne, Tatjana T Makovski

Affiliations

  • French Public Health Agency (Santé Publique France), Saint-Maurice, France.
  • CERPOP, UMR 1295, Inserm Université Toulouse III, Toulouse, France.
  • Service Universitaire des Maladies Infectieuses, Centre Hospitalier Gustave Dron, Tourcoing, France.
  • Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, IPLESP, UMR-S, 1136, Paris, France.
  • French Public Health Agency (Santé Publique France), Saint-Maurice, France.
  • Université Paris Cité, INSERM UMR1266, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Team 1, Paris, France.
  • Department of Psychiatry, AP-HP, Louis Mourier Hospital, Colombes, France.
  • AP-HP, Hôpital Tenon, Service de Médecine Interne, Paris, France.
  • Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, INRAE, Center for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), Paris, France.
  • Service de Psychiatrie de l'adulte, AP-HP, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, France.

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Various factors associated with long COVID have been evidenced, but the heterogeneity of definitions and epidemiological investigations has often hidden risk pathways relevant for understanding and preventing this condition.

METHODS

This nationwide random sampling survey conducted in France after the Omicron waves in autumn 2022 assessed eight sets of factors potentially associated with long COVID in a structured epidemiological investigation based on a conceptual model accounting for the relationships between these sets of factors. A representative sample of 1813 adults of whom 55% were infected with SARS-CoV-2 was assessed for infection dates and context, post-COVID symptoms and these factors. Four definitions of long COVID, including the World Health Organisation's, were used.

RESULTS

Female sex, household size (≥2), low financial security, negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic on occupation and work conditions, number of comorbidities (≥2), presence of respiratory disease, mental and sensory disorders, number of SARS-CoV-2 infections (≥2) and initial symptoms (≥6), perceived high severity of COVID-19 are positively and consistently associated with long COVID. Age ≥ 75 years, retirement, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (≥2 doses) and good perceived information regarding long Covid are negatively associated with the condition.

CONCLUSIONS

The broad spectrum of factors confirmed here strongly suggests that long COVID should be regarded not only as a direct complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection but also as driven by a broader network of contextual, medical, psychological and social factors. These factors should be better considered in strategies aimed at limiting the long COVID burden in the general population.

MeSH

Signs And Symptoms, Covid-19, Work, Infections, Post-Acute Covid-19 Syndrome