A hybrid register and questionnaire study of Covid-19 and post-acute sick leave in Denmark

Elisabeth O’Regan*, Ingrid Bech Svalgaard, Anna Irene Vedel Sørensen, Lampros Spiliopoulos, Peter Bager, Nete Munk Nielsen, Jørgen Vinsløv Hansen, Anders Koch, Steen Ethelberg, Anders Hviid

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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Abstract

Post-acute sick leave is an underexplored indicator of the societal burden of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we report findings about self-reported sick leave and risk factors thereof from a hybrid survey and register study, which include 37,482 RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and 51,336 test-negative controls who were tested during the index- and alpha-dominant waves. We observe that an additional 33 individuals per 1000 took substantial sick leave following acute infection compared to persons with no known history of infection, where substantial sick leave is defined as >1 month of sick leave within the period 1–9 months after the RT-PCR test date. Being female, 50–65 years, or having certain pre-existing health conditions such as obesity, chronic lung diseases, and fibromyalgia each increase risk for taking substantial sick leave. Altogether, these results may help motivate improved diagnostic and treatment options for persons living with post-Covid conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number6266
JournalNature Communications
Volume14
Number of pages8
ISSN2041-1723
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7. Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Springer Nature Limited.

Keywords

  • COVID-19/epidemiology
  • Denmark/epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • SARS-CoV-2/genetics
  • Sick Leave
  • Surveys and Questionnaires

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