Table 3 Descriptive characteristics of participants with long COVID by specific long COVID symptom, weighted (N = 293)
Difficulty with mobility N = 159 | Difficulty with cognition N = 199 | Difficulty with self-care N = 45 | |
|---|---|---|---|
Prop. | Prop. | Prop. | |
Long COVID variables | |||
Long COVID status | |||
Yes, but not formally diagnosed | 73.42% | 76.61% | 62.14% |
Yes, formally diagnosed | 26.58% | 23.39% | 37.86% |
Presence of specific long COVID symptoms | |||
Mobility (e.g., walking or climbing steps) | – | 58.81% | 100.00% |
Cognition (e.g., remembering or concentrating) | 66.33% | – | 84.85% |
Self-care (e.g., washing all over or dressing) | 28.49% | 21.44% | – |
Weekly health behaviours in month prior to COVID-19 infection | |||
Exercise frequency (ref no exercise) | |||
< 30 min to 2 hours | 65.22% | 64.15% | 66.67% |
3h hours | 20.29% | 24.83% | 10.37% |
Days of fresh air (> 15 minutes) | 4.89 (2.54) | 5.19 (2.41) | 4.38 (2.31) |
Sleep quality (ref very good/good) | |||
Average | 40.71% | 41.26% | 28.36% |
Not good/very poor | 46.33% | 49.04% | 62.21% |
Smoking (ref non-smoker) | 8.41% | 13.26% | 13.43% |
More than 14 weekly alcoholic drinks (ref = < 14) | 8.84% | 7.44% | 8.36% |
Number of mental health care behaviours (range 0–9) | 0.85 (1.26) | 0.80 (1.11) | 0.93 (1.12) |
COVID-19 infection variables | |||
COVID-19 infection severity in first 2 weeks (ref asymptomatic) | |||
Mild | 18.12% | 16.68% | 3.96% |
Moderate | 65.58% | 71.58% | 74.85% |
Severe | 11.83% | 8.53% | 13.99% |
Dominant strain in the UK at time of COVID-19 infection (ref original variant) | |||
Alpha (1 November 2020 to 30 June 2021) | 47.39% | 51.48% | 39.89% |
Delta (1 July to 30 November 2021) | 35.03% | 37.98% | 40.67% |
Omicron (1 December 2021-) | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Socio-demographics | |||
Female (ref male) | 39.48% | 51.61% | 46.72% |
Age (ref 60+) | |||
45–59 | 31.89% | 36.73% | 32.44% |
30–44 | 12.36% | 22.66% | 3.45% |
18–29 | 1.21% | 0.62% | 0.00% |
Ethnic minority groups (ref White) | 4.91% | 14.75% | 8.97% |
Education (ref degree or higher) | |||
A-levels or vocational | 26.03% | 26.08% | 30.11% |
Up to GCSE | 51.14% | 50.58% | 50.34% |
Low household income (<£30,000) | 63.72% | 47.78% | 75.89% |
Employed (ref not employed) | 50.71% | 66.19% | 27.54% |
Key worker | 16.03% | 27.71% | 11.80% |
Crowded household | 13.65% | 15.32% | 14.30% |
Living arrangement (ref alone) With others, not with children | 52.90% | 49.62% | 50.55% |
With others, including children | 24.68% | 33.01% | 26.26% |
Live in a rural area (ref urban) | 23.19% | 23.12% | 24.38% |
Pre-existing conditions | |||
Long-term physical health condition (ref none) | 66.34% | 57.66% | 82.25% |
Long-term mental health condition (ref none) | 16.80% | 18.78% | 21.89% |