Ayoubkhani, Daniel;
Zaccardi, Francesco;
Pouwels, Koen B;
Walker, Ann;
Houston, Donald;
Alwan, Nisreen A;
Martin, Josh;
... Nafilyan, Vahe; + view all
(2024)
Employment outcomes of people with Long Covid symptoms: community-based cohort study.
European Journal of Public Health
, 34
(3)
pp. 489-496.
10.1093/eurpub/ckae034.
Preview |
Text
Walker_Employment outcomes of people with Long Covid symptoms- community-based cohort study_VoR.pdf Download (486kB) | Preview |
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the long-term employment consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection is lacking. We used data from a large, community-based sample in the UK to estimate associations between Long Covid and employment outcomes. METHODS: This was an observational, longitudinal study using a pre–post design. We included survey participants from 3 February 2021 to 30 September 2022 when they were aged 16–64 years and not in education. Using conditional logit modelling, we explored the time-varying relationship between Long Covid status ≥12 weeks after a first test-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (reference: pre-infection) and labour market inactivity (neither working nor looking for work) or workplace absence lasting ≥4 weeks. RESULTS: Of 206 299 participants (mean age 45 years, 54% female, 92% white), 15% were ever labour market inactive and 10% were ever long-term absent during follow-up. Compared with pre-infection, inactivity was higher in participants reporting Long Covid 30 to <40 weeks [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.45; 95% CI: 1.17–1.81] or 40 to <52 weeks (aOR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.05–1.72) post-infection. Combining with official statistics on Long Covid prevalence, and assuming a correct statistical model, our estimates translate to 27 000 (95% CI: 6000–47 000) working-age adults in the UK being inactive because of Long Covid in July 2022. CONCLUSIONS: Long Covid is likely to have contributed to reduced participation in the UK labour market, though it is unlikely to be the sole driver. Further research is required to quantify the contribution of other factors, such as indirect health effects of the pandemic.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Employment outcomes of people with Long Covid symptoms: community-based cohort study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/eurpub/ckae034 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae034 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | lack of exercise, employment, follow-up, infections, community, labor market, covid-19, post-acute covid-19 syndrome |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Inst of Clinical Trials and Methodology > MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10187618 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
