INTRODUCTION: There are concerns of postacute sequelae of COVID-19, but the impact of long COVID on the US workforce is unclear.
METHODS: We analyzed the nationally representative 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Adult (aged 18 or above) full time workers were classified as those who had never had COVID-19, those who had COVID-19 without long COVID, and those who had long COVID. The number of days of work missed due to illness in 2022 was assessed in unadjusted negative binomial regressions and those adjusted for paid sick leave, age, sex, race and comorbidities.
RESULTS: Among 125,151,402 (weighted) adults, 42.9% never had COVID-19, 49.6% had COVID-19 without long COVID, and 7.5% had long COVID. Patients with long COVID missed more than 8 days of work in a year which was 171% higher than patients without COVID-19% and 62% higher than those who had COVID-19 without long COVID. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, patients who had COVID-19 without long COVID had a greater rate of missing work (IRR 1.75; 95% CI 1.51, 2.04) compared with those who did not have COVID-19. Long COVID patients had an even higher rate of missing work (IRR 2.21; 95% CI 1.79, 2.73) compared with those who did not have COVID-19.
DISCUSSION: An additional outcome for patients with long COVID is an impact on the workforce and significantly more missed workdays.
