The Relationship Between Long COVID, Labor Productivity, and Socioeconomic Losses in Japan: A Cohort Study

Overview

Journal IJID Reg

Specialty Infectious Diseases

Date 2024 Dec 24

PMID 39717862

Authors

Shunichiro Konishi

Katsunori Masaki

Kyoko Shimamoto

Yoko Ibuka

Rei Goto

Ho Namkoong

Shotaro Chubachi

Hideki Terai

Takanori Asakura

Jun Miyata

Shuhei Azekawa

Kensuke Nakagawara

Hiromu Tanaka

Atsuho Morita

Norihiro Harada

Hitoshi Sasano

Ai Nakamura

Yu Kusaka

Takehiko Ohba

Yasushi Nakano

Kazumi Nishio

Yukiko Nakajima

Shoji Suzuki

Shuichi Yoshida

Hiroki Tateno

Koichi Fukunaga

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined shifts in labor productivity and their economic ramifications among adult patients with long COVID in Japan.

Methods: A total of 396 patients were categorized into three groups based on symptom progression: non-long COVID, long COVID recovered, and long COVID persistent. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at three time intervals: 3, 6, and 12 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Labor productivity was gauged through presenteeism and absenteeism, measured using the World Health Organization Health and Work Performance Questionnaire.

Results: Long COVID was observed in 52.7% of patients, and 29.3% of all the patients continued to experience long COVID symptoms 1 year after diagnosis. At all three time points (3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis), the long COVID persistent group showed a statistically significant difference in absolute presenteeism compared with the non-long COVID and long COVID recovered groups ( <0.01). Economic loss owing to decrease in labor productivity was calculated as $21,659 per year in the long COVID persistent group and $9008 per year in the long COVID recovered group ( <0.01).

Conclusion: The study's results revealed a notable decline in labor productivity over time, underscoring the importance of early detection and intervention to mitigate the socio-economic repercussions of long COVID, in addition to its health implications.

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