ArticlePloS one2023
One-fourth of COVID-19 patients have an impaired pulmonary function after 12 months of disease onset.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recovery of lung function during the first year after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of incentive spirometer added to standard rehabilitation in previously hospitalized adults with post-COVID-19 condition: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of rehabilitation medicine · 2026Trial
- Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Pulmonary Function in the PURE-Colombia Cohort: A Comparative Analysis with Pre-COVID Values and Non-COVID-19 Controls.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Incentive Spirometer in COVID-19: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Associations between serological evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and longitudinal pulmonary outcomes among people with HIV: analysis of the MACS/WIHS combined cohort study (MWCCS).Respiratory research · 2026Article
- Long-term impacts of COVID-19 on systemic inflammation and control of breathing reflexes: an observational cohort study.Respiratory research · 2026Observational
- A Retrospective Observational Study of Pulmonary Impairments in Long COVID Patients.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Observational
- Pulmonary Function Among COVID-19 Patients in Home Isolation Program.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Long-Term Cardiopulmonary Function After COVID-19-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Multicenter Case-Control Study.Critical care explorations · 2025Article
- Article
- Respiratory burden in post-acute COVID-19 sequelae: a longitudinal study of airway and systemic inflammation and clinical outcomes.ERJ open research · 2025Article
- Assessment of the Abnormalities in Chest Computed Tomography and Pulmonary Function Test in Convalescents Six Months After COVID-19.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Maximal oxygen uptake, pulmonary function and walking economy are not impaired in patients diagnosed with long COVID.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Article
- Review of organ damage from COVID and Long COVID: a disease with a spectrum of pathology.Medical review (2021) · 2025Review
- Proof of Concept: Effects of an Immune-Enhancing Formula on Clinical Markers of Critical Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cases.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Persistent pulmonary impairment after 2 years of COVID-19 infection: An observational study.Lung India : official organ of Indian Chest Society · 2024Article
- Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) in nursing home residents: A retrospective cohort study.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2024Article
- Diagnostic value of lung function tests in long COVID: analysis of positive bronchial provocation test outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Modelling lung diffusion-perfusion limitation in mechanically ventilated SARS-CoV-2 patients.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is increasing data that show a persistently impaired pulmonary function upon recovery after severe infection. Little is known however about the extent, recovery and determinants of pulmonary impairment across the full spectrum of COVID-19 severity over time.
methodsIn a well characterized, prospective cohort of both hospitalised and non-hospitalised individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection, the RECoVERED study, pulmonary function (diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO)) and spirometry) was measured until one year after disease onset. Additionally, data on sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, symptoms, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) were collected. Pulmonary function and these determinants were modelled over time using mixed-effect linear regression. Determinants of pulmonary function impairment at 12 months after disease onset were identified using logistic regression.
findingsBetween May 2020 and December 2021, 301 of 349 participants underwent at least one pulmonary function test. After one year of follow-up, 25% of the participants had an impaired pulmonary function which translates in 11%, 22%, and 48% of the participants with mild, moderate and severe/critical COVID-19. Improvement in DLCO among the participants continued over the period across one, six and twelve months. Being older, having more than three comorbidities (p<0·001) and initial severe/critical disease (p<0·001) were associated with slower improvement of pulmonary function over time, adjusted for age and sex. HRQL improved over time and at 12 months was comparable to individuals without impaired pulmonary function.
interpretationThe prevalence of impaired pulmonary function after twelve months of follow-up, was still significant among those with initially moderate or severe/critical COVID-19. Pulmonary function increased over time in most of the severity groups. These data imply that guidelines regarding revalidation after COVID-19 should target individuals with moderate and severe/critical disease severities.
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