SynthesisVirology journal2024
The burden of persistent symptoms after COVID-19 (long COVID): a meta-analysis of controlled studies in children and adults.
Synthesis in Virology journal, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Post-COVID syndrome in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh: a systematic narrative review of epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and healthcare system responses.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of a symptom-titrated exercise program on fatigue and quality of life in people with post-COVID condition - a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Mild hyperventilation with preserved exercise capacity in patients with self-reported long-term dyspnea after COVID-19-a prospective cohort study in a primary healthcare setting.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Evolutionary Predictors of Post-COVID Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Persistent Symptoms After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Referred Occupational Clinical Registry: Symptom Patterns and Associated Factors.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Bridging Gaps in Long COVID Therapy: A Review.Current medicinal chemistry · 2026Review
- Long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection in a cohort of healthcare workers in Qatar.BMC infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Disease spectrum of patients with hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant organism infections in the intensive care unit: a retrospective study.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Postacute Sequelae of COVID-19 in Pediatric Patients Within the United States: A Scoping Review.American journal of medicine open · 2024Article
- [Fatigue in the general population: results of the "German Health Update 2023" study].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Article
- Assessing post-COVID-19 respiratory dynamics: a comprehensive analysis of pulmonary function, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and bronchodilator response.ERJ open research · 2024Article
- Assessment of COVID-19 risk factors of early and long-term mortality with prediction models of clinical and laboratory variables.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Symptoms and Conditions in Children and Adults up to 90 Days after SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Retrospective Observational Study Utilizing the Common Data Model.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 9 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious meta-analyses estimating the prevalence of the post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) were confounded by the lack of negative control groups. This may result in an overestimation of the prevalence of those experiencing PCC, as these symptoms are non-specific and common in the general population. In this study, we aimed to compare the burden of persistent symptoms among COVID-19 survivors relative to COVID-19-negative controls.
methodsA systematic literature search was conducted using the following databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) until July 2023 for comparative studies that examined the prevalence of persistent symptoms in COVID-19 survivors. Given that many of the symptoms among COVID-19 survivors overlap with post-hospitalization syndrome and post-intensive care syndrome, we included studies that compare the prevalence of persistent symptoms in hospitalized COVID-19 patients relative to non-COVID-19 hospitalized patients and in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients relative to healthy controls that reported outcomes after at least 3 months since infection. The results of the meta-analysis were reported as odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval based on the random effects model.
resultsTwenty articles were included in this study. Our analysis of symptomatology in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to negative controls revealed that the majority of symptoms examined were not related to COVID-19 infection and appeared equally prevalent in both cohorts. However, non-COVID-19 hospitalized patients had higher odds of occurrence of certain symptoms like anosmia, ageusia, fatigue, dyspnea, and brain fog (P < 0.05). Particularly, anosmia and ageusia showed substantially elevated odds relative to the negative control group at 11.27 and 9.76, respectively, P < 0.05. In contrast, analysis of hospitalized COVID-19 patients compared to those hospitalized for other indications did not demonstrate significantly higher odds for the tested symptoms.
conclusionsThe persistent symptoms in COVID-19 survivors may result from hospitalization for causes unrelated to COVID-19 and are commonly reported among the general population. Although certain symptoms exhibited higher odds in non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients relative to controls, these symptoms are common post-viral illnesses. Therefore, the persistent symptoms after COVID-19 may not be unique to SARS-CoV-2. Future studies including well-matched control groups when investigating persistent symptoms in COVID-19 survivors are warranted to draw a firm conclusion.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.