https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19...healthcare-workers-hospitals-new-data-suggest
Long COVID may affect up to 5% of healthcare workers in hospitals, new data suggest
Laine Bergeson
53 minutes ago.
COVID-19
For the study, a team led by researchers at the Center for Research in Occupational Health at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and the Center for Biomedical Research Network of Epidemiology and Public Health in Madrid analyzed occupational health registry data from 8,441 healthcare workers diagnosed as having COVID-19 at three public hospitals from 2020 through 2023.
Long-COVID prevalence was estimated at 4.9% and 5.0% at two of the hospitals and 3.0% at the third. These estimates are lower than those observed in previous studies, which have ranged from 15% to more than 70% among healthcare workers. A Swiss study earlier this year assessing data through 2024 placed the rate at up to 60%.
Long-COVID rates rose with age
Across all three Spanish hospitals, the likelihood of long COVID increased with age. Each additional year of age was associated with a 3% to 9% increase in long-COVID prevalence. The highest rates were observed in healthcare workers aged 50 and older.
Occupational role may contribute to long COVID prevalence among healthcare workers.
The researchers also found differences across occupations. At all three hospitals, nurse assistants most consistently experienced higher rates of long COVID than physicians, “suggesting that occupational role may contribute to long COVID prevalence among healthcare workers,” write the researchers.
The findings “may reflect differences in exposure intensity, task allocation, duration of patient contact, physical workload, and working conditions,” the authors noted.
Occupational differences varied by sex
Occupational patterns also varied by sex. Among women, nurse assistants at one hospital were nearly three times as likely as physicians to have long COVID (prevalence ratio [PR], 2.97).
Among men, occupational differences were even more pronounced. Male nurses at one hospital were more than twice as likely as physicians to have long COVID (PR, 2.56), while male nurse assistants at another hospital had a more than 20-fold higher risk (PR, 20.33). But the researchers note that the estimates are based on relatively few cases, and the latter finding had wide confidence intervals.
The authors call for future studies that use standardized definitions and data collection to better understand the occupational and sex-specific patterns of long COVID among healthcare workers. They conclude, “These findings highlight the importance of occupational health surveillance and follow-up strategies that consider both occupational role and potential sex-specific patterns.”
Long COVID may affect up to 5% of healthcare workers in hospitals, new data suggest
Laine Bergeson
53 minutes ago.
COVID-19
Long COVID affected roughly 3% to 5% of healthcare workers at three Spanish hospitals from 2020 to 2023, with prevalence increasing with age and in some occupational groups, according to a new study published in BMC Public Health.For the study, a team led by researchers at the Center for Research in Occupational Health at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and the Center for Biomedical Research Network of Epidemiology and Public Health in Madrid analyzed occupational health registry data from 8,441 healthcare workers diagnosed as having COVID-19 at three public hospitals from 2020 through 2023.
Long-COVID prevalence was estimated at 4.9% and 5.0% at two of the hospitals and 3.0% at the third. These estimates are lower than those observed in previous studies, which have ranged from 15% to more than 70% among healthcare workers. A Swiss study earlier this year assessing data through 2024 placed the rate at up to 60%.
Long-COVID rates rose with age
Across all three Spanish hospitals, the likelihood of long COVID increased with age. Each additional year of age was associated with a 3% to 9% increase in long-COVID prevalence. The highest rates were observed in healthcare workers aged 50 and older.
Occupational role may contribute to long COVID prevalence among healthcare workers.
The researchers also found differences across occupations. At all three hospitals, nurse assistants most consistently experienced higher rates of long COVID than physicians, “suggesting that occupational role may contribute to long COVID prevalence among healthcare workers,” write the researchers.
The findings “may reflect differences in exposure intensity, task allocation, duration of patient contact, physical workload, and working conditions,” the authors noted.
Occupational differences varied by sex
Occupational patterns also varied by sex. Among women, nurse assistants at one hospital were nearly three times as likely as physicians to have long COVID (prevalence ratio [PR], 2.97).
Among men, occupational differences were even more pronounced. Male nurses at one hospital were more than twice as likely as physicians to have long COVID (PR, 2.56), while male nurse assistants at another hospital had a more than 20-fold higher risk (PR, 20.33). But the researchers note that the estimates are based on relatively few cases, and the latter finding had wide confidence intervals.
The authors call for future studies that use standardized definitions and data collection to better understand the occupational and sex-specific patterns of long COVID among healthcare workers. They conclude, “These findings highlight the importance of occupational health surveillance and follow-up strategies that consider both occupational role and potential sex-specific patterns.”