The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study

Post COVID-19 condition (PCC) is defined as ongoing symptoms at ≥1 month after acute COVID-19. We investigated the risk of PCC in an international cohort according to viral variants. We included 7699 hospitalized patients in six centers (January 2020–June 2023); a subset of participants with ≥1 visi...

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Main Authors: Francesca Bai, Andrea Santoro, Pontus Hedberg, Alessandro Tavelli, Sara De Benedittis, Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali, Carolina Coimbra Marinho, Arnaldo Santos Leite, Maria Mercedes Santoro, Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein, Marco Iannetta, Dovilé Juozapaité, Edita Strumiliene, André Almeida, Cristina Toscano, Jesús Arturo Ruiz-Quiñones, Chiara Mommo, Iuri Fanti, Francesca Incardona, Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri, Giulia Marchetti
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Viruses
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/9/1500
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author Francesca Bai
Andrea Santoro
Pontus Hedberg
Alessandro Tavelli
Sara De Benedittis
Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali
Carolina Coimbra Marinho
Arnaldo Santos Leite
Maria Mercedes Santoro
Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein
Marco Iannetta
Dovilé Juozapaité
Edita Strumiliene
André Almeida
Cristina Toscano
Jesús Arturo Ruiz-Quiñones
Chiara Mommo
Iuri Fanti
Francesca Incardona
Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri
Giulia Marchetti
author_facet Francesca Bai
Andrea Santoro
Pontus Hedberg
Alessandro Tavelli
Sara De Benedittis
Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali
Carolina Coimbra Marinho
Arnaldo Santos Leite
Maria Mercedes Santoro
Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein
Marco Iannetta
Dovilé Juozapaité
Edita Strumiliene
André Almeida
Cristina Toscano
Jesús Arturo Ruiz-Quiñones
Chiara Mommo
Iuri Fanti
Francesca Incardona
Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri
Giulia Marchetti
author_sort Francesca Bai
collection DOAJ
description Post COVID-19 condition (PCC) is defined as ongoing symptoms at ≥1 month after acute COVID-19. We investigated the risk of PCC in an international cohort according to viral variants. We included 7699 hospitalized patients in six centers (January 2020–June 2023); a subset of participants with ≥1 visit over the year after clinical recovery were analyzed. Variants were observed or estimated using Global Data Science Initiative (GISAID) data. Because patients returning for a post COVID-19 visit may have a higher PCC risk, and because the variant could be associated with the probability of returning, we used weighted logistic regressions. We estimated the proportion of the effect of wild-type (WT) virus vs. Omicron on PCC, which was mediated by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, through a mediation analysis. In total, 1317 patients returned for a post COVID visit at a median of 2.6 (IQR 1.84–3.97) months after clinical recovery. WT was present in 69.6% of participants, followed by the Alpha (14.4%), Delta (8.9%), Gamma (3.9%) and Omicron strains (3.3%). Among patients with PCC, the most common manifestations were fatigue (51.7%), brain fog (32.7%) and respiratory symptoms (37.2%). Omicron vs. WT was associated with a reduced risk of PCC and PCC clusters; conversely, we observed a higher risk with the Delta and Alpha variants vs. WT. In total, 42% of the WT effect vs. Omicron on PCC risk appeared to be mediated by ICU admission. A reduced PCC risk was observed after Omicron infection, suggesting a possible reduction in the PCC burden over time. A non-negligible proportion of the variant effect on PCC risk seems mediated by increased disease severity during the acute disease.
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spelling doaj-art-b079ee55073d482dbc0af67b00bb26202025-08-20T01:56:13ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152024-09-01169150010.3390/v16091500The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 StudyFrancesca Bai0Andrea Santoro1Pontus Hedberg2Alessandro Tavelli3Sara De Benedittis4Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali5Carolina Coimbra Marinho6Arnaldo Santos Leite7Maria Mercedes Santoro8Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein9Marco Iannetta10Dovilé Juozapaité11Edita Strumiliene12André Almeida13Cristina Toscano14Jesús Arturo Ruiz-Quiñones15Chiara Mommo16Iuri Fanti17Francesca Incardona18Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri19Giulia Marchetti20Clinic of Infectious Diseases, San Paolo Hospital, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Science, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, ItalyClinic of Infectious Diseases, San Paolo Hospital, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Science, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, ItalyDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Huddinge, Karolinska Institute, 17177 Stockholm, SwedenIcona Foundation, 20145 Milan, ItalyIcona Foundation, 20145 Milan, ItalySchool of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Minas Gerais, BrazilSchool of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Minas Gerais, BrazilSchool of Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30130-100, Minas Gerais, BrazilDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyVilnius Santaros Klinikos Biobank, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, 08406 Vilnius, LithuaniaClinic of Infectious Diseases and Dermatovenerology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty, Vilnius University, 03101 Vilnius, LithuaniaCentro Universitário de Lisboa Central, Centro Clínico Académico de Lisboa, 1169-050 Lisboa, PortugalCentro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, 1449-005 Lisboa, PortugalHospital Juan Graham Casasus, Villahermosa 86126, Tabasco, MexicoEuResist Network GEIE, 00152 Rome, ItalyEuResist Network GEIE, 00152 Rome, ItalyEuResist Network GEIE, 00152 Rome, ItalyCentre for Clinical Research, Epidemiology, Modelling and Evaluation (CREME), Institute for Global Health, UCL, London WC1E 6BT, UKClinic of Infectious Diseases, San Paolo Hospital, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Department of Health Science, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, ItalyPost COVID-19 condition (PCC) is defined as ongoing symptoms at ≥1 month after acute COVID-19. We investigated the risk of PCC in an international cohort according to viral variants. We included 7699 hospitalized patients in six centers (January 2020–June 2023); a subset of participants with ≥1 visit over the year after clinical recovery were analyzed. Variants were observed or estimated using Global Data Science Initiative (GISAID) data. Because patients returning for a post COVID-19 visit may have a higher PCC risk, and because the variant could be associated with the probability of returning, we used weighted logistic regressions. We estimated the proportion of the effect of wild-type (WT) virus vs. Omicron on PCC, which was mediated by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission, through a mediation analysis. In total, 1317 patients returned for a post COVID visit at a median of 2.6 (IQR 1.84–3.97) months after clinical recovery. WT was present in 69.6% of participants, followed by the Alpha (14.4%), Delta (8.9%), Gamma (3.9%) and Omicron strains (3.3%). Among patients with PCC, the most common manifestations were fatigue (51.7%), brain fog (32.7%) and respiratory symptoms (37.2%). Omicron vs. WT was associated with a reduced risk of PCC and PCC clusters; conversely, we observed a higher risk with the Delta and Alpha variants vs. WT. In total, 42% of the WT effect vs. Omicron on PCC risk appeared to be mediated by ICU admission. A reduced PCC risk was observed after Omicron infection, suggesting a possible reduction in the PCC burden over time. A non-negligible proportion of the variant effect on PCC risk seems mediated by increased disease severity during the acute disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/9/1500post COVID-19 conditionlong COVIDpost acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infectionSARS-CoV-2 viral variantomicron variant
spellingShingle Francesca Bai
Andrea Santoro
Pontus Hedberg
Alessandro Tavelli
Sara De Benedittis
Júlia Fonseca de Morais Caporali
Carolina Coimbra Marinho
Arnaldo Santos Leite
Maria Mercedes Santoro
Francesca Ceccherini Silberstein
Marco Iannetta
Dovilé Juozapaité
Edita Strumiliene
André Almeida
Cristina Toscano
Jesús Arturo Ruiz-Quiñones
Chiara Mommo
Iuri Fanti
Francesca Incardona
Alessandro Cozzi-Lepri
Giulia Marchetti
The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
Viruses
post COVID-19 condition
long COVID
post acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection
SARS-CoV-2 viral variant
omicron variant
title The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
title_full The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
title_fullStr The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
title_full_unstemmed The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
title_short The Omicron Variant Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of the Post COVID-19 Condition and Its Main Phenotypes Compared to the Wild-Type Virus: Results from the EuCARE-POSTCOVID-19 Study
title_sort omicron variant is associated with a reduced risk of the post covid 19 condition and its main phenotypes compared to the wild type virus results from the eucare postcovid 19 study
topic post COVID-19 condition
long COVID
post acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection
SARS-CoV-2 viral variant
omicron variant
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/9/1500
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