Mu, Yi;
Dashtban, Ashkan;
Mizani, Mehrdad A;
Tomlinson, Chris;
Mohamed, Mohamed;
Ashworth, Mark;
Mamas, Mamas;
... Banerjee, Amitava; + view all
(2024)
Healthcare utilisation of 282,080 individuals with long COVID over two years: a multiple matched control, longitudinal cohort analysis.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
10.1177/01410768241288345.
(In press).
Preview |
PDF
mu-et-al-2024-healthcare-utilisation-of-282-080-individuals-with-long-covid-over-two-years-a-multiple-matched-control.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Objectives To investigate healthcare utilisation and cost in individuals with long COVID (LC) at population level. Design Case–control cohort analysis with multiple age-, sex-, ethnicity-, deprivation-, region- and comorbidity-matched control groups: (1) COVID only, no LC; (2) pre-pandemic; (3) contemporary non-COVID; and (4) pre-LC (self-controlled, pre-COVID pandemic). Setting National, population-based, linked UK electronic health records (British Heart Foundation/NHS England Secure Data Environment). Participants Adults aged ≥18 years with LC between January 2020 and January 2023. Main outcome measures Healthcare utilisation (number of consultations/visits per person: primary care (general practitioner [GP]), secondary care (outpatient [OP], inpatient [IP] and emergency department [ED], investigations and procedures) and inflation-adjusted cost (£) for LC and control populations per month, calendar year and pandemic year for each category. Results A total of 282,080 individuals with LC were included between January 2020 and January 2023. The control groups were COVID only, no LC ( n = 1,112,370), pre-pandemic ( n = 1,031,285), contemporary non-COVID ( n = 1,118,360) and pre-LC ( n = 282,080). Healthcare utilisation per person (per month/year) was higher in LC than controls across GP, OP and ED. For IP, LC had higher healthcare utilisation than pre-LC and contemporary non-COVID (all p < 0.0001). Healthcare utilisation of the LC group increased progressively between 2020 and 2023, compared with controls. Median cost per patient/year was also higher in individuals with LC than all control groups. Conclusions LC has been associated with substantial, persistent healthcare utilisation and cost over the last three years. Future funding, resources and staff for LC prevention, treatment and research must be prioritised to reduce sustained primary and secondary healthcare utilisation and costs.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Healthcare utilisation of 282,080 individuals with long COVID over two years: a multiple matched control, longitudinal cohort analysis |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1177/01410768241288345 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01410768241288345 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Epidemiology, health economics, health policy, public health |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Health Informatics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10200845 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
