Persistent symptoms in adult patients one year after COVID-19: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Long COVID is defined as the persistence of symptoms beyond 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. To better understand the long-term course and etiology of symptoms we analyzed a cohort of COVID-19 patients prospectively. METHODS: Patients were included at 5 months after acute COVID-19 in this prospective, non-interventional follow-up study. Patients followed until 12 months after COVID-19 symptom onset (n=96, 32.3% hospitalised, 55.2% females) were included in this analysis of symptoms, quality of life (based on a SF-12 survey), laboratory parameters including antinuclear antibodies (ANA), and SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels. RESULTS: At month 12, only 22.9% of patients were completely free of symptoms and the most frequent symptoms were reduced exercise capacity (56.3%), fatigue (53.1%), dyspnoea (37.5%), concentration problems (39.6%), problems finding words (32.3%), and sleeping problems (26.0%). Females showed significantly more neurocognitive symptoms than males.ANA titres were ≥1:160 in 43.6% of patients at 12 months post COVID-19 symptom onset, and neurocognitive symptom frequency was significantly higher in the group with an ANA titre ≥1:160 compared to <1:160. Compared to patients without symptoms, patients with at least one long COVID symptom at 12 months did not differ significantly with respect to their SARS-CoV-2-antibody levels, but had a significantly reduced physical and mental life quality compared to patients without symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Neurocognitive long COVID symptoms can persist at least for one year after COVID-19 symptom onset, and reduce life quality significantly. Several neurocognitive symptoms were associated with ANA titre elevations. This may indicate autoimmunity as cofactor in aetiology of long COVID.