TY - JOUR
T1 - The risk of Long Covid symptoms
T2 - a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies
AU - O’Mahoney, Lauren L.
AU - Routen, Ash
AU - Gillies, Clare
AU - Jenkins, Sian A.
AU - Almaqhawi, Abdullah
AU - Ayoubkhani, Daniel
AU - Banerjee, Amitava
AU - Brightling, Chris
AU - Calvert, Melanie
AU - Cassambai, Shabana
AU - Ekezie, Winifred
AU - Funnell, Mark P.
AU - Welford, Anneka
AU - Peace, Arron
AU - Evans, Rachael A.
AU - Jeffers, Shavez
AU - Kingsnorth, Andrew P.
AU - Pareek, Manish
AU - Seidu, Samuel
AU - Wilkinson, Thomas J.
AU - Willis, Andrew
AU - Shafran, Roz
AU - Stephenson, Terence
AU - Sterne, Jonathan
AU - Ward, Helen
AU - Ward, Tom
AU - Khunti, Kamlesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - The global evidence on the risk of symptoms of Long Covid in general populations infected with SARS-CoV-2 compared to uninfected comparator/control populations remains unknown. We conducted a systematic literature search using multiple electronic databases from January 1, 2022, to August 1, 2024. Included studies had ≥100 people with confirmed or self-reported COVID-19 at ≥28 days following infection onset, and an uninfected comparator/control group. Results were summarised descriptively and meta-analyses were conducted to derive pooled risk ratio estimates. 50 studies totaling 14,661,595 people were included. In all populations combined, there was an increased risk of a wide range of 39 out of 40 symptoms in those infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 compared to uninfected controls. The symptoms with the highest pooled relative risks were loss of smell (RR 4.31; 95% CI 2.66, 6.99), loss of taste (RR 3.71; 95% CI 2.22, 7.26), poor concentration (RR 2.68; 95% CI 1.66, 4.33), impaired memory (RR 2.53; 95% CI 1.82, 3.52), and hair loss/alopecia (RR 2.38; 95% CI 1.69, 3.33). This evidence synthesis, of 50 controlled studies with a cumulative participant count exceeding 14 million people, highlights a significant risk of diverse long-term symptoms in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, especially among those who were hospitalised.
AB - The global evidence on the risk of symptoms of Long Covid in general populations infected with SARS-CoV-2 compared to uninfected comparator/control populations remains unknown. We conducted a systematic literature search using multiple electronic databases from January 1, 2022, to August 1, 2024. Included studies had ≥100 people with confirmed or self-reported COVID-19 at ≥28 days following infection onset, and an uninfected comparator/control group. Results were summarised descriptively and meta-analyses were conducted to derive pooled risk ratio estimates. 50 studies totaling 14,661,595 people were included. In all populations combined, there was an increased risk of a wide range of 39 out of 40 symptoms in those infected with SARS‑CoV‑2 compared to uninfected controls. The symptoms with the highest pooled relative risks were loss of smell (RR 4.31; 95% CI 2.66, 6.99), loss of taste (RR 3.71; 95% CI 2.22, 7.26), poor concentration (RR 2.68; 95% CI 1.66, 4.33), impaired memory (RR 2.53; 95% CI 1.82, 3.52), and hair loss/alopecia (RR 2.38; 95% CI 1.69, 3.33). This evidence synthesis, of 50 controlled studies with a cumulative participant count exceeding 14 million people, highlights a significant risk of diverse long-term symptoms in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, especially among those who were hospitalised.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004427211
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-59012-w
DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-59012-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 40335476
AN - SCOPUS:105004427211
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 4249
ER -
