PCPs 'in a unique position' to care for the 7% of adults who have had long COVID
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Key takeaways:
- A data brief revealed that 17.8 million adults in the U.S. have had long COVID, and vaccination was the best prevention strategy.
- As a trusted health care source, PCPs can play a key role in long COVID management.
With roughly 7% of adults in the United States reporting that they have had long COVID, primary care providers can play an important role in its prevention and management, according to experts.
“Long COVID is an umbrella term for a wide range of symptoms that develop or continue four or more weeks after infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19,” Jeffrey Zavala, MD, FAAFP, a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told Healio.
Researchers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently revealed the results from a household survey, which indicate that 6.9% of adults, or 17.8 million, in the U.S. have had long COVID.
“With so many people having had COVID over the past several years, it is not surprising that 7% of adults have also had long COVID,” Zavala said.
The survey included a sample of 17,418 patients aged 18 years or older, corresponding to 259 million adults, according to the data brief, which was recently published in JAMA. In the sample, 8,275 patients reported previously having COVID-19 and 1,202 reported experiencing long COVID symptoms.
“AHRQ’s data brief adds to a growing body of literature that quantifies the prevalence and correlates of long COVID," Rebecca Ahrnsbrak, MPS, and Zhengyi Fang, MS, survey statisticians in the AHRQ Division of Survey Operation, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, said in a joint email statement to Healio.
Vaccination
Notably, the researchers also found a link between being vaccinated and boosted and lower long COVID rates. They said that, from the perspective of “actions policymakers, practitioners and individuals can take to help reduce the prevalence of long COVID,” this was their most important finding.
“Adults who reported receiving a booster shot reported lower rates of long COVID than both unvaccinated adults and adults who reported receiving only the primary vaccination series,” Ahrnsbrak and Fang said. “Our colleagues at the CDC add that vaccination remains the safest and most dependable strategy to build immunity and protection against severe illness, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19.”
The results serve as “an important reminder that the best way to protect against COVID-19, and therefore long COVID, is by getting vaccinated,” according to Zavala.
“The COVID-19 vaccine reduces risk of exposure, serious illness, hospitalization and death,” he said. “My number one piece of advice to my patients who are eligible is to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”
Although no link between booster shots and reduced risk for COVID-19 has been observed, the results indicate that “booster shots may enhance protection against long COVID,” — potentially because they also reduce the risk for severe COVID-19, according to the data brief.
Ahrnsbrak and Fang additionally noted that in June, the CDC recommended that everyone aged 6 months and older get an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine this fall, when they become available.
“Alongside vaccination, practicing good hygiene by covering coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing hands often, taking steps for cleaner air and staying home when sick are vital in preventing the spread of COVID-19,” Ahrnsbrak and Fang said.
Disparities
The brief additionally revealed that a few groups were more likely to have long COVID. Compared with 5.1% of men, 8.6% of women had long COVID. Also, white and Hispanic adults more often reported long COVID compared with Black and Asian individuals.
“Black adults had lower than average rates of long COVID likely due to having the lowest reported rates of ever having COVID-19,” Ahrnsbrak and Fang said. “Low long COVID rates among Asian adults may have been due to their high rates of booster shots,” they added. “Hopefully, the large differences observed by AHRQ between men and women will help motivate further research on the determinants of long COVID.”
The AHRQ researchers also pointed to CDC data suggesting that symptoms of long COVID “are more prevalent among people with disabilities (10.8%) than among those without disabilities (6.6%).”
“It’s also important to remember that long COVID is still a relatively new condition, and experts are working to understand more about who experiences it and the long-term effects,” Zavala said.
“Because the symptoms are so wide ranging, it’s often difficult to diagnose long COVID conditions from other conditions or illnesses,” he added. “There is currently no lab test available to diagnose long COVID.”
With that in mind, Zavala said PCPs “need to be prepared to help manage and treat symptoms.”
The role of PCPs
When experiencing symptoms that could be attributed to long COVID, patients’ first step should be seeing their PCP, who can rule out other possible conditions and diagnose long COVID, Zavala said.
“PCPs, including family physicians, are the main source of care for patients managing chronic conditions,” he said. “As a result, they are also in a unique position to provide and coordinate care for patients with long COVID.”
With long COVID evolving into a burgeoning field the health care community is still learning about, Zavala said that starting with a trusted health care professional is an important first step for patients.
“Because we know your patient’s family and personal health history, we can play a key role in evaluating symptoms and making a diagnosis, if appropriate,” he said. “We can also talk about options for treatment or make a referral to another specialist or facility if necessary.”
Because much is still unknown, Zavala also stressed the importance of PCPs’ continued education on the condition.
“Anyone who has been infected with COVID-19 can develop long COVID. Even if you had no symptoms, you could develop long-term health issues from COVID-19,” he said. “Physicians should stay up to date on the latest findings, treatments and management strategies for long COVID, and work closely with patients to understand their unique needs.”