부산대학교 도서관

Background: Millions of people infected by the SARS-CoV2 virus are now dealing with its sequelae, mostly known as ‘Long COVID’. Multiple studies have shown that approximately 10–20% of the survivors of COVID-19 develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as Long COVID. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed at estimating the system-wise prevalence of Long COVID sequelae at 12 months follow-up and to identify the possible risk factors attributable to the emergence of these symptoms.Methodology: Studies were assessed via electronic web-based searches of PubMed, PubMed Central and Google Scholar. We included all the studies reporting prevalence of long-haul symptoms at 3, 6 and 12 months of follow-up period after COVID-19 infection. Data was analysed using R software. Forest plot and I-squared test were carried out to assess the heterogeneity of the studies. A funnel plot and Egger’s regression test were done to check the publication bias. A random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence.Results: Forty-three articles comprising 19,025 study participants were included in this review. The most common system affected was the cardiovascular system with a pooled prevalence of 14% (95% CI 9.6–19.9%) with severe heterogeneity (I2 = 98%, p < 0.01), followed by neurological system with a pooled prevalence of 12.4% (95% CI 7.8–19.3%) and severe heterogeneity (I2 = 99%, p < 0.0001). Being of female gender (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.05–2.17%), history of hospitalization (OR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.92–1.04%), history of sore throat (OR = 2.81, 95% CI 0.51–15.47) and history of diarrhea during acute COVID-19 infection (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 0.76–1.96) were the identified factors associated with long-haul COVID symptoms.Conclusion: The maximum pooled prevalence was from the cardiovascular system with chest pain being the most common symptom reported, followed by the neurological system. Certain characteristics (gender, hospitalization status, h/o sore throat and diarrhea) were associated with long-haul COVID.