Tag: CDC publication

Prevalence of Symptoms ≤12 Months After Acute Illness, by COVID-19 Testing Status Among Adults — United States, December 2020–March 2023

Summary:

What is already known about this topic? Post-COVID conditions, or long COVID, can persist for months or years after an acute COVID-19 illness and can include emergence of new symptoms or the occurrence of symptoms that come and go.

What is added by this report? In a multicenter study of adults with a COVID-like illness, symptom prevalence decreased over time after the acute illness. Approximately 16% of adults with COVID-like symptoms reported persistent symptoms 12 months after a positive or negative SARS-CoV-2 test result. At 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after testing, some symptomatic persons had ongoing symptoms, and others had emerging symptoms not reported during the previous period.

What are the implications for public health practice? Health care providers should be aware that symptoms can persist, emerge, reemerge, or resolve after COVID-like illness and are not unique to COVID-19 or to post-COVID conditions.

Abstract:

To further the understanding of post-COVID conditions, and provide a more nuanced description of symptom progression, resolution, emergence, and reemergence after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-like illness, analysts examined data from the Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry (INSPIRE), a prospective multicenter cohort study. This report includes analysis of data on self-reported symptoms collected from 1,296 adults with COVID-like illness who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a Food and Drug Administration–approved polymerase chain reaction or antigen test at the time of enrollment and reported symptoms at 3-month intervals for 12 months.

Prevalence of any symptom decreased substantially between baseline and the 3-month follow-up, from 98.4% to 48.2% for persons who received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test results (COVID test–positive participants) and from 88.2% to 36.6% for persons who received negative SARS-CoV-2 test results (COVID test–negative participants).

Persistent symptoms decreased through 12 months; no difference between the groups was observed at 12 months (prevalence among COVID test–positive and COVID test–negative participants = 18.3% and 16.1%, respectively; p>0.05).

Both groups reported symptoms that emerged or reemerged at 6, 9, and 12 months. Thus, these symptoms are not unique to COVID-19 or to post-COVID conditions. Awareness that symptoms might persist for up to 12 months, and that many symptoms might emerge or reemerge in the year after COVID-like illness, can assist health care providers in understanding the clinical signs and symptoms associated with post-COVID–like conditions.

Source: Montoy JC, Ford J, Yu H, et al. Prevalence of Symptoms ≤12 Months After Acute Illness, by COVID-19 Testing Status Among Adults — United States, December 2020–March 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:859–865. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7232a2 (Full text)

Long COVID and Significant Activity Limitation Among Adults, by Age — United States, June 1–13, 2022, to June 7–19, 2023

Summary:

What is already known about this topic? Long COVID includes a wide range of ongoing symptoms that can last for weeks, months, or years following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

What is added by this report? Prevalence of long COVID among noninstitutionalized U.S. adults aged ≥18 years decreased from 7.5% (95% CI = 7.1–7.9) during June 1–13, 2022 to 6.0% (95% CI = 5.7–6.3) during June 7–19, 2023 and from 18.9% (95% CI = 17.9–19.8) to 11.0% (95% CI = 10.4–11.6) among adults reporting previous COVID-19. After an initial decline, prevalence remained unchanged beginning January 4–16, 2023. Approximately one quarter of adults with long COVID report significant activity limitations.

What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 prevention efforts, including staying up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination and planning for long COVID symptom management and health care service needs, remain important.

Abstract:

Long COVID is a condition encompassing a wide range of health problems that emerge, persist, or return following COVID-19. CDC analyzed national repeat cross-sectional Household Pulse Survey data to estimate the prevalence of long COVID and significant related activity limitation among U.S. adults aged ≥18 years by age group.

Data from surveys completed between June 1–13, 2022, and June 7–19, 2023, indicated that long COVID prevalence decreased from 7.5% (95% CI = 7.1–7.9) to 6.0% (95% CI = 5.7–6.3) among the overall U.S. adult population, irrespective of history of previous COVID-19, and from 18.9% (95% CI = 17.9–19.8) to 11.0% (95% CI = 10.4–11.6) among U.S. adults reporting previous COVID-19. Among both groups, prevalence decreased from June 1–13, 2022, through January 4–16, 2023, before stabilizing.

When stratified by age, only adults aged <60 years experienced significant rates of decline (p<0.01). Among adults reporting previous COVID-19, prevalence decreased among those aged 30–79 years through fall or winter and then stabilized.

During June 7–19, 2023, 26.4% (95% CI = 24.0–28.9) of adults with long COVID reported significant activity limitation, the prevalence of which did not change over time.

These findings help guide the ongoing COVID-19 prevention efforts and planning for long COVID symptom management and future health care service needs.

Source:  Ford ND, Slaughter D, Edwards D, et al. Long COVID and Significant Activity Limitation Among Adults, by Age — United States, June 1–13, 2022, to June 7–19, 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:866–870. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7232a3 (Full text)

Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM): Design and Implementation of a Prospective/Retrospective Rolling Cohort Study

Abstract:

In the Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM), we relied on expert clinician diagnoses to enroll patients from 7 specialty clinics in the United States in order to perform a systematic collection of data on measures of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Healthy persons and those with other illnesses that share some features with ME/CFS were enrolled in comparison groups. The major objectives were to:

1) use standardized questionnaires to measure illness domains of ME/CFS and to evaluate patient heterogeneity overall and between clinics;

2) describe the course of illness, identify the measures that best correlate with meaningful clinical differences, and assess the performances of questionnaires as patient/person-reported outcome measures;

3) describe prescribed medications, orders for laboratory and other tests, and management tools used by expert clinicians to care for persons with ME/CFS;

4) collect biospecimens for future hypothesis testing and for evaluation of morning cortisol profiles; and

5) identify measures that best distinguish persons with ME/CFS from those in the comparison groups and detect subgroups of persons with ME/CFS who may have different underlying causes.

Enrollment began in 2012 and is planned to continue in multiple stages through 2017. We present the MCAM methods in detail, along with an initial description of the 471 patients with ME/CFS who were enrolled in stage 1.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US

 

Source: Unger ER, Lin JS, Tian H, Natelson BH, Lange G, Vu D, Blate M, Klimas NG, Balbin EG, Bateman L, Allen A, Lapp CW, Springs W, Kogelnik AM, Phan CC, Danver J, Podell RN, Fitzpatrick T, Peterson DL, Gottschalk CG, Rajeevan MS; MCAM Study Group. Multi-Site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM): Design and Implementation of a Prospective/Retrospective Rolling Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2017 Mar 17:1-10. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx029. [Epub ahead of print] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28338983

 

Seroepidemiology of chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study

Abstract:

We performed serological testing for a large number of infectious agents in 26 patients from Atlanta who had chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and in 50 controls matched by age, race, and sex. We did not find any agent associated with CFS. In addition, we did not find elevated levels of antibody to any of a wide range of agents examined. In particular, we did not find elevated titers of antibody to any herpesvirus, nor did we find evidence of enteroviral exposure in this group of patients.

 

Source: Mawle AC, Nisenbaum R, Dobbins JG, Gary HE Jr, Stewart JA, Reyes M, Steele L, Schmid DS, Reeves WC. Seroepidemiology of chronic fatigue syndrome: a case-control study. Clin Infect Dis. 1995 Dec;21(6):1386-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8749620