A hybrid register and questionnaire study of Covid-19 and post-acute sick leave in Denmark

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 6266 - 8
• Main Authors: O’Regan, Elisabeth, Svalgaard, Ingrid Bech, Sørensen, Anna Irene Vedel, Spiliopoulos, Lampros, Bager, Peter, Nielsen, Nete Munk, Hansen, Jørgen Vinsløv, Koch, Anders, Ethelberg, Steen, Hviid, Anders
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 07.10.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/326/596/4130; 692/308/174; 692/308/409; 692/499; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Denmark - epidemiology; Employee benefits; Female; Fibromyalgia; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Lung diseases; Male; multidisciplinary; Polymerase chain reaction; Questionnaires; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sick Leave; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Denmark
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42048-1

Post-acute sick leave is an underexplored indicator of the societal burden of SARS-CoV-2. Here,  we report findings about self-reported sick leave and risk factors thereof from a hybrid survey and register study, which include 37,482 RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases and 51,336 test-negative controls who were tested during the index- and alpha-dominant waves. We observe that an additional 33 individuals per 1000 took substantial sick leave following acute infection compared to persons with no known history of infection, where substantial sick leave is defined as >1 month of sick leave within the period 1–9 months after the RT-PCR test date. Being female, 50–65 years, or having certain pre-existing health conditions such as obesity, chronic lung diseases, and fibromyalgia each increase risk for taking substantial sick leave. Altogether, these results may help motivate improved diagnostic and treatment options for persons living with post-Covid conditions. Authors utilise a questionnaire-based approach to survey self-reported, post-acute sick leave and risk factors in cases of SARS-CoV-2.