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Background: Long COVID is a well recognised, if heterogeneous, entity. Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) due to other pathogens may cause long-term symptoms, but few studies compare post-acute sequelae between SARS-CoV-2 and other ARIs. We aimed to compare symptom profiles between people with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, people with previous non-COVID-19 ARIs, and contemporaneous controls, and to identify clusters of long-term symptoms. Methods: COVIDENCE UK is a prospective, population-based UK study of ARIs in adults. We analysed data for 16 potential long COVID symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), reported between January 21 and February 15, 2021, by participants unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. We classified participants as having previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or previous non-COVID-19 ARI (≥4 weeks prior) or no reported ARI. We compared symptoms by infection status using logistic and fractional regression, and identified symptom clusters using latent class analysis (LCA). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04330599. Findings: 0.55) than non-COVID-19 ARI. Interpretation: Both SARS-CoV-2 and non-COVID-19 ARIs are associated with a wide range of symptoms more than 4 weeks after the acute infection. Research on post-acute sequelae of ARIs should extend from SARS-CoV-2 to include other pathogens. Funding: Barts Charity.
Vivaldi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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