Cross-sectional survey observes high rates of persistent cognitive and systemic symptoms in urban adults with prior SARS-CoV-2, highlighting substantial long-term functional impairment.
Key Points
To evaluate the prevalence, symptom profiles, and functional impacts of Long COVID among community-dwelling adults in an urban metropolitan area.
Administered a cross-sectional community survey assessing SARS-CoV-2 infection history, health status, and symptoms persisting at least 90 days (N=544).
Applied the National Academies of Sciences operational definition of Long COVID to respondents with confirmed prior COVID-19 infection (N=264).
Long COVID criteria were met by 34.85% (92 of 264) of infected respondents, representing an estimated sample-based prevalence of 16.91% across all 544 surveyed adults.
The most frequent persistent symptoms were fatigue (69.32%), brain fog (62.5%), shortness of breath (48.84%), headache or migraine (43.02%), and joint or muscle pain (41.38%).
Cognitive and functional limitations predominated over persistent respiratory symptoms among affected individuals.