Long COVID across SARS-CoV-2 variants, lineages, and sublineages

Sergio Padilla; Christian Ledesma; Javier García-Abellán; José Alberto García; Marta Fernández-González; Alba de la Rica; Antonio Galiana; Félix Gutiérrez; Mar Masiá

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109536

Long COVID across SARS-CoV-2 variants, lineages, and sublineages

iScience. 2024 Mar 19;27(4):109536. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109536. eCollection 2024 Apr 19.

Authors

Sergio Padilla^{1

2

3}, Christian Ledesma¹, Javier García-Abellán^{1

2

3}, José Alberto García^{1

3}, Marta Fernández-González^{1

3}, Alba de la Rica⁴, Antonio Galiana⁴, Félix Gutiérrez^{1

2

3}, Mar Masiá^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Infectious Diseases Unit, Hospital General Universitario de Elche, Alicante, Spain.
² Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, San Juan de Alicante, Spain.
³ CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
⁴ Microbiology Service, Hospital General Universitario de Elche, Alicante, Spain.

Abstract

This prospective study aimed to determine the prevalence of long COVID in patients hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection from March 2020 to July 2022 and assess the impact of different viral lineages. A total of 2,524 patients were followed up for 12 months, with persistent symptoms reported in 35.2% at one month, decreasing thereafter. Omicron variant patients initially showed higher symptom intensity, but this trend diminished over time. Certain viral lineages, notably Delta lineages AY.126 and AY.43, and Omicron sublineages BA.1.17, BA.2.56, and BA.5.1, consistently correlated with more severe symptoms. Overall, long COVID prevalence and severity were similar across SARS-CoV-2 variants. Specific lineages may influence post-COVID sequelae persistence and severity.

Keywords: Biological sciences; Microbial genomics; Microbiology; Virology.