Baseline characteristics of 1325 individuals referred to the post-COVID-19 assessment clinic
| Overall (N=1325) | Hospitalised (n=547) | Non-hospitalised (n=566) | ED (n=212) | P value* | |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Age, years | |||||
| Median (IQR) | 49.9 (40.1–60.1) | 58.3 (47.0–67.7) | 44.6 (35.6–52.8) | 48.5 (39.4–55.7) | <0.001 |
| Range | 18–93 | 18–93 | 19–85 | 22–85 | |
| Female gender | 748 (56.5) | 235 (43.0) | 386 (68.2) | 127 (59.9) | <0.001 |
| Ethnicity | <0.001 | ||||
| Ethnic minority | 550 (41.5) | 288 (52.7) | 175 (30.9) | 87 (41.0) | |
| White | 655 (49.4) | 213 (38.9) | 332 (58.7) | 110 (51.9) | |
| Unknown/not stated | 120 (9.1) | 46 (8.4) | 59 (10.4) | 15 (7.1) | |
| SARS-CoV-2 laboratory testing | |||||
| RT-PCR | 614 (46.3) | 448 (81.9) | 75 (13.3) | 91 (42.9) | <0.001 |
| Positive where tested | 378 (61.6) | 322 (71.9) | 12 (16.0) | 44 (48.4) | <0.001 |
| Serology | 241 (18.2) | 28 (5.1) | 162 (28.6) | 51 (24.1) | <0.001 |
| Positive where tested | 114 (47.3) | 17 (60.7) | 70 (43.2) | 27 (52.9) | 0.153 |
| No testing performed | 470 (35.5) | 71 (13.0) | 329 (58.1) | 70 (33.0) | <0.001 |
| IMD decile | |||||
| Median (IQR) | 4 (3–6) | 4 (2–6) | 5 (3–7) | 4 (3–6) | <0.001 |
| Unknown | 4 (0.3) | 2 (0.4) | 2 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | ~1.000 |
| Chronic diseases and risk factors | |||||
| Cardiovascular disease | 165 (12.5) | 138 (25.2) | 16 (2.8) | 11 (5.2) | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 232 (17.5) | 177 (32.4) | 32 (5.7) | 23 (10.8) | <0.001 |
| Asthma | 178 (13.4) | 66 (12.1) | 79 (14.0) | 33 (15.6) | 0.398 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 156 (11.8) | 129 (23.6) | 13 (2.3) | 14 (6.6) | <0.001 |
| Thyroid disease | 87 (6.6) | 42 (7.7) | 31 (5.5) | 14 (6.6) | 0.333 |
| Anxiety | 44 (3.3) | 19 (3.5) | 15 (2.7) | 10 (4.7) | 0.346 |
| Depression | 45 (3.4) | 16 (2.9) | 17 (3.0) | 12 (5.7) | 0.139 |
| Malignancy | 55 (4.2) | 36 (6.6) | 15 (2.7) | 4 (1.9) | 0.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 23 (1.7) | 17 (3.1) | 4 (0.7) | 2 (0.9) | 0.006 |
| Chronic kidney disease | 19 (1.4) | 19 (3.5) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | <0.001 |
| Chronic fatigue syndrome | 10 (0.8) | 0 (0.0) | 8 (1.4) | 2 (0.9) | 0.009 |
| Current smoker | 17 (1.3) | 12 (2.2) | 3 (0.5) | 2 (0.9) | 0.043 |
| Time since symptom onset | |||||
| Median, days (IQR) | 108 (61–197) | 69 (51–111) | 194 (118–298) | 76 (55–128) | <0.001 |
| 0–3 months | 559 (42.2) | 356 (65.1) | 77 (13.6) | 126 (59.4) | |
| 3–6 months | 387 (29.2) | 151 (27.6) | 183 (32.3) | 53 (25.0) | |
| 6–9 months | 164 (12.4) | 19 (3.5) | 128 (22.6) | 17 (8.0) | |
| 9–12 months | 168 (12.7) | 14 (2.6) | 143 (25.3) | 11 (5.2) | |
| 12+ months | 47 (3.5) | 7 (1.3) | 35 (6.2) | 5 (2.4) | |
| Symptoms† | |||||
| Median (IQR) | 2 (1–4) | 1 (0–2) | 3 (2–5) | 2 (1–4) | <0.001 |
| Breathlessness | 651 (49.1) | 211 (38.6) | 342 (60.4) | 98 (46.2) | <0.001 |
| Fatigue | 644 (48.6) | 187 (34.2) | 359 (63.4) | 98 (46.2) | <0.001 |
| Cough | 312 (23.5) | 106 (19.4) | 150 (26.5) | 56 (26.4) | 0.011 |
| Chest pain | 305 (23.0) | 76 (13.9) | 176 (31.1) | 53 (25.0) | <0.001 |
| Myalgia | 251 (18.9) | 57 (10.4) | 168 (29.7) | 26 (12.3) | <0.001 |
| Headache | 233 (17.6) | 38 (6.9) | 166 (29.3) | 29 (13.7) | <0.001 |
| Brain fog‡ | 200 (15.1) | 35 (6.4) | 136 (24.0) | 29 (13.7) | <0.001 |
| Palpitations | 167 (12.6) | 31 (5.7) | 104 (18.4) | 32 (15.1) | <0.001 |
| Arthralgia | 170 (12.8) | 40 (7.3) | 110 (19.4) | 20 (9.4) | <0.001 |
| Disturbed sleep | 142 (10.7) | 25 (4.6) | 92 (16.3) | 25 (11.8) | <0.001 |
| Anosmia | 122 (9.2) | 29 (5.3) | 78 (13.8) | 15 (7.1) | <0.001 |
| Postural symptoms | 105 (7.9) | 14 (2.6) | 74 (13.1) | 17 (8.0) | <0.001 |
| Diarrhoea | 82 (6.2) | 20 (3.7) | 56 (9.9) | 6 (2.8) | <0.001 |
| Skin rash | 75 (5.7) | 12 (2.2) | 47 (8.3) | 16 (7.5) | <0.001 |
| Abdominal pain | 75 (5.7) | 13 (2.4) | 51 (9.0) | 11 (5.2%) | <0.001 |
| Functional status | |||||
| % best health, median (IQR) (n=1325) | 70 (55–85) | 80 (65–95) | 60 (50–75) | 75 (60–90) | <0.001 |
| Fatigue Assessment Scale score, median (IQR) (n=806) | 29 (21–37) | 24 (16–34) | 30 (24–38) | 28 (23–36) | <0.001 |
| MRC Dyspnoea Scale score assessed | 593 (44.8) | 192 (35.1) | 324 (57.2) | 77 (36.3) | <0.001 |
| MRC Dyspnoea Scale score ≥3 where assessed | 214 (36.1) | 69 (35.9) | 115 (35.5) | 30 (39.0) | 0.849 |
| PTSD score assessed | 399 (30.1) | 151 (27.6) | 200 (35.3) | 48 (22.6) | <0.001 |
| PTSD score≥6 where assessed | 95 (23.8) | 30 (19.9) | 53 (26.5) | 12 (25) | 0.345 |
| GAD-2 score assessed | 853 (64.4) | 295 (53.9) | 454 (80.2) | 104 (49.1) | <0.001 |
| GAD-2 score ≥3 where assessed | 255 (29.9) | 63 (21.4) | 159 (35.0) | 33 (31.7) | <0.001 |
| PHQ-2 score assessed | 841 (63.5) | 287 (52.5) | 451 (79.7) | 103 (48.6) | <0.001 |
| PHQ-2 score ≥3 where assessed | 204 (24.3) | 54 (18.8) | 119 (26.4) | 31 (30.1) | 0.022 |
*Kruskal-Wallis test used for continuous variables. χ2 test used for categorical variables. Fisher’s exact test used for categorical variables where one or more frequencies <5.
†Commonly reported symptoms as shown in the online supplemental material.
‡‘Brain fog’ encompasses problems with memory, cognition and concentration.
ED, emergency department; GAD-2, two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder; IMD, Index of Multiple Deprivation; MRC, Medical Research Council; PHQ-2, two-item Patient Health Questionnaire; PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale; RT-PCR, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction.