Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40073162›Full record

SynthesisHealth promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice2025

Global prevalence of post-COVID-19 condition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective evidence.

Mohamed Kadry Taher, Talia Salzman, Allyson Banal, Kate Morissette, Francesca R Domingo, Angela M Cheung, Curtis L Cooper, Laura Boland, Alexandra M Zuckermann, Muhammad A Mullah and 10 more

Erratum issuedAbstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Patient and Professional Perspectives on Long COVID: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Synthesis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Observational
  8. Task-Evoked Pupillary Dynamics Are Altered in Post-COVID Syndrome.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  9. Observational
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Observational
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

20 authors.

Mohamed Kadry TaherEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Talia SalzmanEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Allyson BanalEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Kate MorissetteEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Francesca R DomingoEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Angela M CheungDepartment of Medicine and Joint Department of Medical Imaging, University Health Network and Sinai Health System, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Curtis L CooperDepartment of Medicine, University of OttawaOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Laura BolandEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Alexandra M ZuckermannEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Muhammad A MullahInfectious Disease and Vaccination Programs Branch, Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Claudie LapriseEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Roberto ColonnaEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Ayan HashiEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Prinon RahmanEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Erin CollinsPopulation Health Modelling Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario,Canada.
Tricia CorrinPublic Health Risk Sciences Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Lisa A WaddellPublic Health Risk Sciences Division, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Jason E PagaduanEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Rukshanda AhmadRisk Assessment Division, Centre for Surveillance, Integrated Insights and Risk Assessment, Data, Surveillance and Foresight Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Alejandra P Jaramillo GarciaEvidence Synthesis and Knowledge Translation Unit, Centre for Surveillance and Applied Research, Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWe investigated the prevalence of new or persistent manifestations experienced by COVID-19 survivors at 3 or more months after their initial infection, collectively known as post-COVID-19 condition (PCC).

methodsWe searched four electronic databases and major grey literature resources for prospective studies, systematic reviews, authoritative reports and population surveys. A random-effects meta-analysis pooled the prevalence data of 22 symptoms and outcomes. The GRADE approach was used to assess the certainty of evidence. PROSPERO CRD42021231476.

resultsOf 20 731 identified references, 194 met our inclusion criteria. These studies followed 483 531 individuals with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis over periods of up to 2 years. Most focused on adults, nearly two-thirds were conducted in Europe and 63% were of high or moderate quality. The supplementary search identified 17 systematic reviews, five authoritative reports and four population surveys that reported on PCC prevalence. Our analysis revealed that more than half of COVID-19 survivors experienced one or more symptoms more than a year after their initial infection. The most common symptoms were fatiguedyspneamemory, sleep or concentration disturbances; depressionand pain. Limitation in returning to work was the most common outcome. Prevalence tended to be higher among females, individuals hospitalized during their initial infection and those who experienced severe COVID-19 illness.

conclusionPCC presents a significant health burden, affecting some groups more than others. This information will help inform health care system policies and services for people living with PCC and those caring for them.

Indexed as

COVID-19SurvivorsFemaleGlobal HealthHumansPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromePrevalenceProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2COVID-19 Long-HaulerCOVID-19 recoveryLong COVIDlongterm effects of COVID-19PASCPCCpost-acute sequelae of COVID-19post-COVID conditionprevalenceprospective studiessystematic review

Identifiers

PMID40073162
PMCPMC12039764

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.