Back to Search Start Over

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

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
Source :
Viruses, Vol 16, Iss 9, p 1500 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

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.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19994915
Volume :
16
Issue :
9
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Viruses
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.b079ee55073d482dbc0af67b00bb2620
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/v16091500