To estimate the prevalence of long COVID identified through hospital registry data and examine associated occupational and demographic factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Spain. A multicentre study was conducted between 2020 and 2023 in three Spanish hospitals (Madrid, n = 1; Barcelona, n = 2). Long COVID prevalence and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated overall and by sex, age group, and occupational category. Associations between long COVID and occupational category were assessed using Poisson regression models with robust variance, stratified by sex and hospital, and adjusted by age and occupation. Registry data included 8,439 HCWs. Long COVID prevalence ranged from 3.0% to 5.0% and increased with age, with an adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) increase of 3–9% per year. Occupational differences were more pronounced among men. In University Hospital Ramon y Cajal, male nurses (PR 2.56; 95% CI 1.13–5.81) and other HCWs (PR 3.67; 95% CI 1.12–12.08) had higher prevalence compared with physicians. In Hospital Parc Tauli, male nurse assistants (PR 20.33; 95% CI 3.64–113.42) and support staff (PR 8.30; 95% CI 1.46–47.19) showed markedly elevated prevalence, although confidence intervals were wide. Among women, occupational associations were weaker and less consistent. Overall sex differences were modest, but sex modified the association between occupational role and long COVID prevalence. Long COVID affected approximately 3–5% of HCWs across participating hospitals. Occupational differences in long COVID prevalence were observed, although estimates varied across centres. These findings highlight the importance of occupational health surveillance and follow-up strategies that consider both occupational role and potential sex-specific patterns. Healthcare workers have experienced high occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and previous studies report highly variable estimates of long COVID prevalence, often focusing on physicians and nurses, with inconsistent evidence regarding occupational and sex-related risk factors. Using multicentre hospital registry data from Spain, this study shows that approximately 3–5% of healthcare workers were diagnosed with long COVID. Long COVID prevalence increased with age and varied across occupational groups, with some evidence suggesting sex-specific occupational patterns. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening occupational health surveillance and follow-up for long COVID across both clinical and non-clinical hospital roles and suggest that prevention and return-to-work strategies should consider sex-specific and occupation-related patterns of long COVID among healthcare workers.
Delano et al. (Wed,) studied this question.