Al-Oraibi Amani, Martin Christopher A, Woolf Katherine, Bryant Luke, Nellums Laura B, Tarrant Carolyn, Khunti Kamlesh, Pareek Manish
Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
BMJ Open. 2025 Jan 6;15(1):e086578. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-086578.
To assess the prevalence of UK healthcare workers (HCWs) who reported symptoms of COVID-19 lasting for longer than 5 weeks and examine associated factors with experiencing long COVID in an ethnically diverse cohort.
A cross-sectional study using data from the UK Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 Outcomes in HCWs cohort study.
Data were collected electronically between December 2020 and March 2021.
Individuals aged 16 years or older, residing in the UK, and working as HCWs or ancillary workers in a healthcare setting and/or registered with one of the seven major UK healthcare professional regulators.
The main outcome was long COVID (symptoms>5 weeks). The primary exposure of interest was self-reported ethnicity. We employed univariable and multivariable logistic regression to identify associations. We adjusted for demographic information, health status and existing long-term conditions in our multivariate analysis.
In our analysis of 11 513 HCWs, we found that 2331 (20.25%) reported COVID-19, of whom 525 (22.52%) experienced long COVID. There were no significant differences in risk of long COVID by ethnic group. In terms of other demographic characteristics, the majority of those experiencing long COVID were female (80.0%) and were slightly older than those who did not experience long COVID (median age 46 (IQR 36-54)). In multivariable analyses of those who reported having had COVID-19, HCWs in nursing/midwifery roles (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.76, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.46; p=0.001) and allied health professions (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.93; p=0.023) had higher odds of experiencing long COVID compared with those in medical roles. Other factors significantly associated with long COVID included self-reported psychological conditions (eg, depression and anxiety) and respiratory conditions (eg, asthma).
In this large ethnically diverse cohort study, more than one in five UK HCWs reported experiencing long COVID after acute COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic. We found that specific demographic (older age and female gender) and occupational factors (nursing/midwifery and allied health professions) were associated with higher odds of long COVID. Notably, there were no significant differences in the risk of long COVID by ethnic group. Further research and collaborative efforts are urgently needed to address these factors effectively, develop targeted interventions and understand the temporal and longitudinal dynamics of the condition.
评估报告新冠病毒病（COVID-19）症状持续超过5周的英国医护人员（HCW）的患病率，并在一个种族多样化的队列中研究与长期新冠病毒感染相关的因素。
一项横断面研究，使用来自英国医护人员种族与COVID-19结局研究队列研究的数据。
数据于2020年12月至2021年3月期间通过电子方式收集。
年龄在16岁及以上、居住在英国、在医疗机构担任医护人员或辅助人员和/或在英国七个主要医疗专业监管机构之一注册的个人。
主要结局是长期新冠病毒感染（症状>5周）。感兴趣的主要暴露因素是自我报告的种族。我们采用单变量和多变量逻辑回归来确定关联。在多变量分析中，我们对人口统计学信息、健康状况和现有的长期疾病进行了调整。
在对11513名医护人员的分析中，我们发现2331人（20.25%）报告感染了COVID-19，其中525人（22.52%）经历了长期新冠病毒感染。不同种族群体在长期新冠病毒感染风险方面没有显著差异。在其他人口统计学特征方面，大多数经历长期新冠病毒感染的人是女性（80.0%），并且比未经历长期新冠病毒感染的人略年长（中位年龄46岁（四分位间距36 - 54岁））。在对报告感染过COVID-19的人员进行的多变量分析中，从事护理/助产工作的医护人员（调整后的比值比（aOR）为1.76，95%置信区间为1.26至2.46；p = 0.001）和专职医疗专业人员（aOR为1.42，95%置信区间为1.05至1.93；p = 0.023）与从事医疗工作的人员相比，经历长期新冠病毒感染的几率更高。与长期新冠病毒感染显著相关的其他因素包括自我报告的心理状况（如抑郁和焦虑）和呼吸系统疾病（如哮喘）。
在这项大型种族多样化队列研究中，超过五分之一的英国医护人员报告在疫情第一年急性COVID-19后经历了长期新冠病毒感染。我们发现特定的人口统计学因素（年龄较大和女性）和职业因素（护理/助产和专职医疗专业）与长期新冠病毒感染的较高几率相关。值得注意的是，不同种族群体在长期新冠病毒感染风险方面没有显著差异。迫切需要进一步的研究和合作努力，以有效解决这些因素，制定有针对性的干预措施，并了解该疾病的时间和纵向动态。
