Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection

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The majority of long coronavirus disease (COVID) symptoms are not specific to COVID-19 and could be explained by other conditions. The present study aimed to explore whether Danish individuals with a perception that they suffer from long COVID have antibodies against the nucleocapsid antigen, as a proxy for detecting previous infection. The study was conducted in February and March 2021, right after the second surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. All members of the social media group on Facebook “Covidramte med senfølger” (“long COVID sufferers'') above the age of 17 years and living in Denmark were invited to participate in a short electronic questionnaire about long COVID risk factors and symptoms. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein was detected in blood samples as a proxy for natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. The final study population comprised 341 participants (90.6% females) who completed blood sampling and answered the questionnaire. A total of 232 (68%) were seropositive (median age, 49.5 years; interquartile range [IQR], 41 to 55 years; 90.1% females). There was no significant difference between sexes and serostatus. Seronegative and seropositive individuals had a similar burden of symptoms that could be attributed to long COVID. Time since perceived COVID-19 was significantly longer in the group of seronegative individuals than the seropositive ones (P < 0.001). This study suggests that long-COVID sufferers are mostly women and showed that a third of the participants did not have detectable anti-N-protein antibodies. It emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as this study indicates an overlap between long-COVID symptoms and symptoms that are possibly of another origin.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftMicrobiology Spectrum
Vol/bind10
Udgave nummer6
ISSN2165-0497
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This work was financially supported by grants from the Carlsberg Foundation (CF20-4760045, to P.G.) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NFF205A0063505 and NNF20SA0064201, to P.G.). The funding source of this study did not influence the study design, data collection, data analysis or reporting.

Funding Information:
We thank all participants who voluntarily contributed to this study and those involved in recruitment and sample processing. We also thank Lisbeth Andreasen from the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at Rigshospitalet for her technical assistance in analyzing samples for N-protein antibodies. This work was financially supported by grants from the Carlsberg Foundation (CF20-4760045, to P.G.) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NFF205A0063505 and NNF20SA0064201, to P.G.). The funding source of this study did not influence the study design, data collection, data analysis or reporting. The study was designed and initiated by K.F. and K.I. Data collection was done by K.F., R.B.H., A.R.R.E., K.I., I.S.J., and L.Ø. Sampling analyses were done by C.B.H., P.G., R.F.-S., and L.M.H. Statistical analysis and visualization were done by T.G.L. and K.F. K.F., T.G.L., R.B.H., and K.I. had full access to the data. The first draft of the manuscript was written by K.F., T.G.L., H.B., and K.I. K.F., T.G.L., C.B.H., R.B.H., A.R.R.E., R.F.-S., L.M.H., H.B., L.Ø., I.S.J., I.H., P.G., and K.I. critically revised the manuscript. All authors took part in conceptualization, interpretation, and discussion of results, and all agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work and approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors declared no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Fogh et al.

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