Rheumatology · Infectious Disease · 3 h ago
Autoimmune rheumatic diseases associated with higher Long COVID risk in US cohort
A retrospective US cohort study of 187,106 matched patients found documented Long COVID in 2.8% of patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases versus 1.5% of controls. Autoimmune rheumatic disease was associated with a 56% higher adjusted hazard of Long COVID.
- Matched retrospective cohort included 187,106 patients.
- Long COVID occurred in 2.8% with AIRDs versus 1.5% without.
- Adjusted Long COVID hazard was 56% higher with AIRDs.
- Rituximab and glucocorticoid exposure were associated with increased risk.
Researchers used National Clinical Cohort Collaborative data to assess Long COVID risk among adults with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs). The retrospective study included first documented SARS-CoV-2 infections from September 2021 through December 2023, with follow-up through December 2024. Patients with AIRDs were matched 1:1 to non-AIRD controls. Long COVID was defined by an ICD-10-CM U09.9 code or a Long COVID clinic visit 28–365 days after infection.
Among 187,106 matched patients, Long COVID was documented in 2.8% of those with AIRDs and 1.5% of controls. After multivariable adjustment, AIRD was associated with a higher hazard of Long COVID (adjusted hazard ratio 1.56; 95% CI 1.45–1.67). Within the AIRD population, greater acute COVID-19 severity, pulmonary disease, obesity, and pre-infection exposure to rituximab or glucocorticoids were associated with increased risk. Sjögren's syndrome was also associated with higher risk.
The findings support awareness of persistent post-COVID symptoms in patients with AIRDs. However, this observational analysis cannot establish that AIRDs or medication exposures caused Long COVID. Reliance on diagnostic coding and clinic visits may miss undocumented cases. The supplied abstract provides no effect estimates for individual diseases or medications, limiting assessment of those associations.
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Arthritis & Rheumatology: Higher risk of Long COVID among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases and immunomodulatory therapy: a retrospective cohort analysis of national US data. ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.