ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2022
Post-acute sequelae of covid-19 six to 12 months after infection: population based study.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 168 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
168 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 294 citations in OpenAlex.
- Psychological and Cognitive Sequelae of COVID-19: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Factors influencing work ability and return-to-work in individuals affected by post-COVID: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition (Long COVID): a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review to find link between past psychiatric history and development of long covid.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Definitions and symptoms of the post-COVID syndrome: an updated systematic umbrella review.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Work ability and return-to-work of patients with post-COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Post-COVID syndrome prevalence: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Health maintenance through home-based interventions for community-dwelling older people with sarcopenia during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Experimental gerontology · 2023Pooled it
- Symptom-based rehabilitation in people with post-COVID-19 condition (RELOAD study): a randomised controlled trial.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Trial
- Exercise rehabilitation in post COVID-19 patients: a randomized controlled trial of different training modalities.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2025Trial
- A digital intervention for cognitive deficits following COVID-19: a randomized clinical trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Trial
- Antecedent and persistent symptoms in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses: Insights from prospectively collected data in the BRACE trial.The Journal of infection · 2024Trial
- Physical Therapy Provision After COVID-19 in the Netherlands: Retrospective Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Neurological Manifestations of Long COVID: Current Evidence, Emerging Concepts, and Future Perspectives.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- NeuroCOVID Burden and Functional Impairment in Adults with Long COVID: A Secondary Analysis of an Italian Cohort.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Reshaping long COVID care through patient-reported needs.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Observational
- Incidence, risk factors and sequelae of long/post-COVID in people with diabetes compared to people without diabetes in Germany (longcovid-diab): a study protocol.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2026Article
- Psychopathologies in post-COVID outpatients differ from a psychosomatic control sample in a cross-sectional study.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Population-based comparison of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 and health-related quality of life across pandemic periods: Omicron era versus early pandemic.Scientific reports · 2026Article
108 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo describe symptoms and symptom clusters of post-covid syndrome six to 12 months after acute infection, describe risk factors, and examine the association of symptom clusters with general health and working capacity.
designPopulation based, cross sectional study
settingAdults aged 18-65 years with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between October 2020 and March 2021 notified to health authorities in four geographically defined regions in southern Germany.
participants50 457 patients were invited to participate in the study, of whom 12 053 (24%) responded and 11 710 (58.8% (n=6881) female; mean age 44.1 years; 3.6% (412/11 602) previously admitted with covid-19; mean follow-up time 8.5 months) could be included in the analyses.
main outcome measuresSymptom frequencies (six to 12 months after versus before acute infection), symptom severity and clustering, risk factors, and associations with general health recovery and working capacity.
resultsThe symptom clusters fatigue (37.2% (4213/11 312), 95% confidence interval 36.4% to 38.1%) and neurocognitive impairment (31.3% (3561/11 361), 30.5% to 32.2%) contributed most to reduced health recovery and working capacity, but chest symptoms, anxiety/depression, headache/dizziness, and pain syndromes were also prevalent and relevant for working capacity, with some differences according to sex and age. Considering new symptoms with at least moderate impairment of daily life and ≤80% recovered general health or working capacity, the overall estimate for post-covid syndrome was 28.5% (3289/11 536, 27.7% to 29.3%) among participants or at least 6.5% (3289/50 457) in the infected adult population (assuming that all non-responders had completely recovered). The true value is likely to be between these estimates.
conclusionsDespite the limitation of a low response rate and possible selection and recall biases, this study suggests a considerable burden of self-reported post-acute symptom clusters and possible sequelae, notably fatigue and neurocognitive impairment, six to 12 months after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, even among young and middle aged adults after mild infection, with a substantial impact on general health and working capacity.
trial registrationGerman registry of clinical studies DRKS 00027012.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.