Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40145003›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Post-infection symptoms up to 24 months after COVID-19: a matched cohort study in Berlin, Germany.

Anne Meierkord, Daniel Schulze, Maximilian Gertler, Joachim Seybold, Marcus A Mall, Tobias Kurth, Frank P Mockenhaupt, Stefanie Theuring

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Anne MeierkordInstitute of International Health, Charité Center for Global Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Daniel SchulzeInstitute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Maximilian GertlerInstitute of International Health, Charité Center for Global Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Joachim SeyboldMedical Directorate, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Marcus A MallDepartment of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Tobias KurthInstitute of Public Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Frank P Mockenhaupt *Institute of International Health, Charité Center for Global Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Stefanie Theuring *Institute of International Health, Charité Center for Global Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Long-term health consequences after mild COVID-19 are not well described. Our aim was to estimate their prevalence and describe the time course of signs and symptoms for a period of up to 24 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: We conducted a cohort study matched for age, sex, and test week among individuals who had attended the public COVID-19 test center at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. In early 2022, 576 former COVID-19 patients (>95% non-hospitalized) and 302 uninfected individuals responded to a questionnaire on retrospective monthly symptoms since the test date up to 24 months ago. Results: Symptoms compatible with long COVID were present in 42.9% (247/576) of former COVID-19 patients, compared with 21.2% (64/302) in the uninfected group. In former patients, unadjusted odds ratios (OR) were highest for disturbed taste/smell (OR 9.1 [95% CI: 4.0-21.1]), memory difficulties (OR 5.1 [95% CI: 2.9-8.9]), and shortness of breath at rest (OR 4.5 [95% CI: 1.9-10.6]). In most former COVID-19 patients, symptoms occurred in one coherent period and resolved after a median of 6.5 months, while taste/smell disturbance and neurological/cognitive symptoms showed longer times until recovery. Factors associated with long COVID-compatible symptoms included hospitalization, symptomatic COVID-19 infection, low household income and female sex. Conclusion: Post-infection symptoms in mild COVID-19 patients mostly persist for about half a year, but sometimes longer. Among uninfected individuals who never experienced COVID-19, 21.2% also reported long COVID-compatible symptoms. The current long COVID definition might require revision to prevent misclassification and over-reporting, and to improve diagnosis and prevalence estimates.

Indexed as

COVID-19AdultAgedBerlinCohort StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromePrevalenceRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesTime FactorsCOVID-19long COVIDpost-acute sequel of COVID-19post COVID-19 conditionSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40145003
PMCPMC11937017

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Registered trials

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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.