SynthesisScientific reports2023
Incidence and burden of long COVID in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The prolonged health sequelae "of the COVID-19 pandemic" in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and impact of long COVID on health-related quality of life in previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients: a 2-year follow-up study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Longitudinal kidney outcomes in surviving COVID-19 patients in Africa: a prospective Congolese single-center cohort study.Renal failure · 2025Observational
- Recovery and long-term health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a prospective cohort in an urban setting, Kenya.Global health action · 2025Article
- Healthcare gaps and inequities following hospitalisation for COVID-19 in Brazil's universal healthcare system: a patient-engaged survey of Long COVID healthcare needs, use and barriers.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species: A Unifying Mechanism in Long COVID and Spike Protein-Associated Injury: A Narrative Review.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) Expression and Activation in COVID-19 and Long COVID: From SARS-CoV-2 Escape Mechanisms to Emerging PRR-Targeted Immunotherapies.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Do Long COVID and COVID Vaccine Side Effects Share Pathophysiological Picture and Biochemical Pathways?International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Rethinking the evidence on COVID-19 in Africa.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2025Review
- Prevalence, Evolution and Prognostic Factors of PASC in a Cohort of Patients Discharged from a COVID Unit.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- SPACO+: a mixed methods protocol to assessing the effectiveness of an educative intervention in patients with Long Covid.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Novel biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction in Long COVID patients.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Cerebromicrovascular mechanisms contributing to long COVID: implications for neurocognitive health.GeroScience · 2025Review
- Human herpesvirus reactivation and its potential role in the pathogenesis of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.GeroScience · 2025Review
- Article
- Self-help psychological intervention for young individuals during the post-COVID-19 era: development of a PST chatbot using GPT-4.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Acceptability and feasibility of a group intervention for long COVID in Johannesburg, South Africa: a mixed-method study.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
- Parametric survival analysis of long COVID among hospitalized patients in Zambia: A retrospective cohort study on the time to symptoms resolving.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial dysfunction in long COVID: mechanisms, consequences, and potential therapeutic approaches.GeroScience · 2024Review
- New-onset obstructive airway disease following COVID-19: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.BMC medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Long COVID, also known as "post-acute sequelae of COVID-19," affects at least 65 million individuals worldwide with a wide spectrum of symptoms that may last weeks, months, or permanently. Its epidemiology and burden in Africa are unclear. This meta-analysis examines long-term COVID-19 effects in the WHO African Region. A systematic search in several databases was carried out up to 12 February 2023 including observational studies from African countries reporting the cumulative incidence of long COVID signs and symptoms. Only studies conducted in African countries were included. Several sensitivity and meta-regression analyses were performed. Among 1547 papers initially screened, 25 were included, consisting of 29,213 participants. The incidence of any long COVID symptomatology was 48.6% (95% CI 37.4-59.8) as psychiatric conditions were the most frequent, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder reaching a cumulative incidence of 25% (95% CI 21.1-30.4). Higher age (p = 0.027) and hospitalization (p = 0.05) were associated with a higher frequency of long COVID. Long COVID poses a significant burden in Africa, particularly concerning psychiatric conditions. The study recommends identifying at-risk people and defining treatment strategies and recommendations for African long-COVID patients. High-quality studies addressing this condition in African setting are urgently needed.
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