Title The omicron variant is associated with a reduced risk of the post COVID-19 condition and its main phenotypes compared to the wild-type virus: results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 study /
Authors Bai, Francesca ; Santoro, Andrea ; Hedberg, Pontus ; Tavelli, Alessandro ; De Benedittis, Sara ; de Morais Caporali, Júlia Fonseca ; Marinho, Carolina Coimbra ; Leite, Arnaldo Santos ; Santoro, Maria Mercedes ; Ceccherini Silberstein, Francesca ; Iannetta, Marco ; Juozapaitė, Dovilė ; Strumilienė, Edita ; Almeida, André ; Toscano, Cristina ; Ruiz-Quiñones, Jesús Arturo ; Mommo, Chiara ; Fanti, Iuri ; Incardona, Francesca ; Cozzi-Lepri, Alessandro ; Marchetti, Giulia
DOI 10.3390/v16091500
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Is Part of Viruses.. Basel : MDPI. 2024, vol. 16, iss. 9, art. no. 1500, p. [1-17].. eISSN 1999-4915
Keywords [eng] long COVID ; omicron variant ; post acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection ; post COVID-19 condition ; SARS-CoV-2 viral variant
Abstract [eng] Post COVID-19 condition (PCC) is defined as ongoing symptoms at ≥1 month after acute COVID-19. We investigated the risk of PCC in an international cohort according to viral variants. We included 7699 hospitalized patients in six centers (January 2020–June 2023); a subset of participants with ≥1 visit over the year after clinical recovery were analyzed. Variants were observed or estimated using Global Data Science Initiative (GISAID) data. Because patients returning for a post COVID-19 visit may have a higher PCC risk, and because the variant could be associated with the probability of returning, we used weighted logistic regressions. We estimated the proportion of the effect of wild-type (WT) virus vs. Omicron on PCC, which was mediated by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, through a mediation analysis. In total, 1317 patients returned for a post COVID visit at a median of 2.6 (IQR 1.84–3.97) months after clinical recovery. WT was present in 69.6% of participants, followed by the Alpha (14.4%), Delta (8.9%), Gamma (3.9%) and Omicron strains (3.3%). Among patients with PCC, the most common manifestations were fatigue (51.7%), brain fog (32.7%) and respiratory symptoms (37.2%). Omicron vs. WT was associated with a reduced risk of PCC and PCC clusters; conversely, we observed a higher risk with the Delta and Alpha variants vs. WT. In total, 42% of the WT effect vs. Omicron on PCC risk appeared to be mediated by ICU admission. A reduced PCC risk was observed after Omicron infection, suggesting a possible reduction in the PCC burden over time. A non-negligible proportion of the variant effect on PCC risk seems mediated by increased disease severity during the acute disease.
Published Basel : MDPI
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2024
CC license CC license description