Smith Pierre, Proesmans Kristiaan, Van Cauteren Dieter, Demarest Stefaan, Drieskens Sabine, De Pauw Robby, Cornelissen Laura, De Ridder Karin, Charafeddine Rana
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Arch Public Health. 2022 Jun 4;80(1):151. doi: 10.1186/s13690-022-00906-2.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, most research has focused on the pathophysiology and management of the acute symptoms of COVID-19, yet some people tend to experience symptoms beyond the acute phase of infection, that is, Post COVID-19 condition (PCC). However, evidence on the long-term health impacts of a COVID-19 infection are still scarce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the COVIMPACT study, which aims to set up a cohort of people who have been tested positive for COVID-19 and study the evolution of their physical, mental and social health over the medium (3 months) and long term (two years), and the factors associated with an (un)favorable evolution.
COVIMPACT is a longitudinal cohort study organised over a two-years period between April 2021 and April 2023. The eligible population is all people aged 18 years and older, living in Belgium, with a recent COVID-19 infection and contacted by the health authorities for contact tracing. Two questionnaires are used: a baseline questionnaire that aims to assess the initial health status of the participants and their status during the acute phase of the illness, and a follow-up questionnaire that is sent every three months after participants enter into the cohort. A matched non-COVID-19 control group was also selected. As of November 1, 2021, 10,708 people completed the baseline questionnaire (5% of the eligible population) and the follow-up participation rate was 79%. In total, 48% of the cohort participants appeared to fit the proposed case definition of PCC (i.e. report at least one symptom related to their COVID-19 infection three months afterwards).
This study was designed to provide timely information on the short and long term impact of a COVID-19 infection, to stakeholders such as policymakers, health practitioners and people with PCC. Although the follow-up participation rate was good (79%), the participation rate of the eligible population was low (5%). Compared to other studies, this study has a large sample, of non-hospitalised and hospitalised people, who will be followed over a long period of 3 months to two years post infection, and with a global approach to their health.
自新冠疫情爆发以来，大多数研究都集中在新冠病毒疾病（COVID-19）急性症状的病理生理学和管理方面，但有些人在感染急性期过后仍会出现症状，即新冠后状况（PCC）。然而，关于COVID-19感染对长期健康影响的证据仍然很少。本文的目的是描述COVIMPACT研究，该研究旨在建立一个COVID-19检测呈阳性的人群队列，并研究他们在中期（3个月）和长期（两年）的身体、心理和社会健康状况的演变，以及与（不）良演变相关的因素。
COVIMPACT是一项为期两年的纵向队列研究，在2021年4月至2023年4月期间进行。符合条件的人群为所有年龄在18岁及以上、居住在比利时、近期感染过COVID-19且因接触者追踪被卫生当局联系过的人。使用两份问卷：一份基线问卷，旨在评估参与者的初始健康状况及其在疾病急性期的状况；一份随访问卷，在参与者进入队列后每三个月发送一次。还选择了一个匹配的非COVID-19对照组。截至2021年11月1日，10708人完成了基线问卷（占符合条件人群的5%），随访参与率为79%。总体而言，48%的队列参与者似乎符合PCC的拟议案例定义（即三个月后报告至少一种与他们的COVID-19感染相关的症状）。
本研究旨在为政策制定者、卫生从业者和PCC患者等利益相关者提供关于COVID-19感染短期和长期影响的及时信息。尽管随访参与率良好（79%），但符合条件人群的参与率较低（5%）。与其他研究相比，本研究样本量大，涵盖非住院和住院患者，将在感染后3个月至两年的长时间内对其进行跟踪，并全面关注他们的健康状况。
