Volume 29, Number 3—March 2023
Research
Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in University Setting
, Sydney Bornstein, Nitasha Nagaraj, Gary A. Sardon, Amanda Castel, Amita Vyas, Karen McDonnell, Mira Agneshwar, Alyson Wilkinson, and Lynn Goldman
Table 2
Characteristics of survey respondents by long COVID status for postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in university setting, Washington, DC, USA*
| Characteristic | Total, n = 1,338 | No long COVID, n = 833 | Long COVID,† n = 475 | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y median (IQR) |
23 (21–32) |
23 (21–33) |
23 (21–30) |
0.265 |
| Sex, n = 1,327 | 0.002 | |||
| F | 841 (63.4) | 497 (59.1) | 344 (40.9) | |
| M |
486 (36.6) |
328 (67.5) |
158 (31.5) |
|
| Race/ethnicity, n = 1,319 | 0.089 | |||
| Non-Hispanic White | 734 (55.7) | 439 (59.8) | 295 (40.2) | |
| Asian | 175 (13.3) | 119 (68.0) | 56 (32.0) | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 175 (13.3) | 117 (66.9) | 58 (33.1) | |
| Hispanic | 117 (8.9) | 77 (65.8) | 40 (34.2) | |
| Other | 70 (5.3) | 37 (52.9) | 33 (47.1) | |
| Multiracial |
48 (3.6) |
32 (66.7) |
16 (33.3) |
|
| Affiliation | 0.115 | |||
| Students | 982 (73.4) | 599 (61.0) | 383 (39.0) | |
| Faculty/staff |
356 (26.6) |
234 (65.7) |
122 (34.3) |
|
| Underlying conditions‡, n = 1,262 | 0.003 | |||
| No | 949 (75.2) | 613 (64.6) | 336 (35.4) | |
| Yes |
313 (24.8) |
173 (55.3) |
140 (44.7) |
|
| Smoking status, n = 1,259 | 0.028 | |||
| Never | 1,045 (83.0) | 655 (62.7) | 390 (37.3) | |
| Former/current |
214 (17.0) |
117 (54.7) |
97 (45.3) |
|
| Vaccination status at time of positive test result | <0.0001 | |||
| Fully vaccinated with booster | 555 (41.5) | 411 (74.1) | 144 (25.9) | |
| Fully vaccinated | 400 (29.9) | 213 (55.6) | 170 (44.4) | |
| Not fully vaccinated |
383 (28.6) |
209 (52.3) |
191 (47.7) |
|
| Any symptoms at time of positive test result, n = 1,328 | <0.0001 | |||
| No | 278 (20.9) | 231 (83.1) | 47 (16.9) | |
| Yes |
1,050 (79.1) |
595 (56.7) |
455 (43.3) |
|
| Symptom type at time of positive test result, n = 1,050 | ||||
| Congestion/cough/sore throat/runny nose | 966 (92.0) | 549 (56.8) | 417 (43.2) | 0.713 |
| Headache | 538 (51.2) | 275 (51.1) | 263 (48.9) | 0.0002 |
| Fatigue | 537 (51.1) | 256 (47.7) | 281 (52.3) | <0.0001 |
| Chills/measured fever/subjective fever | 471 (44.9) | 240 (51.0) | 231 (49.0) | 0.0008 |
| Muscle pain | 326 (31.1) | 148 (45.4) | 178 (54.6) | <0.0001 |
| Chest pain/shortness of breath | 189 (18.0) | 67 (35.5) | 122 (64.5) | <0.0001 |
| Diarrhea/nausea/vomiting | 181 (17.2) | 78 (43.1) | 103 (56.9) | <0.0001 |
| Loss of taste/smell | 180 (17.1) | 86 (47.8) | 94 (52.2) | 0.008 |
| Other |
59 (5.6) |
28 (47.5) |
31 (52.5) |
0.142 |
| Symptom count, median (IQR) |
4 (1–6) |
3 (0–5) |
5 (3–8) |
<0.0001 |
| Sought medical care, n = 1,336 | <0.0001 | |||
| No | 1,290 (96.6) | 819 (63.5) | 471 (36.5) | |
| Yes |
46 (3.4) |
12 (26.1) |
34 (73.9) |
|
| Received monoclonal antibodies, n = 1,331 | 0.0012 | |||
| No | 1,258 (94.5) | 788 (62.6) | 470 (37.4) | |
| Unknown | 48 (3.6) | 33 (68.8) | 15 (31.2) | |
| Yes | 25 (1.9) | 7 (28.0) | 18 (72.0) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. IQR, interquartile range. †Long COVID was defined as experiencing >1 of the following symptoms lasting for >28 d after a respondent’s 10-day isolation period ended: difficulty driving, difficulty having conversations, difficulty making decisions, difficulty thinking, fatigue, feeling anxious, feeling depressed or sad, loss of smell, loss of taste, memory loss, muscle pain, muscle weakness, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, trouble sleeping, worsening of symptoms after physical activity, worsening of symptoms after mental activity, or other symptoms. ‡Includes diabetes, asthma, hypertension, obesity, sickle cell disease, cancer, chronic kidney disease, lung diseases, serious heart conditions, and other conditions.