Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41724926›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2026

Long-term effects on physical and mental health and work ability after COVID-19 versus other upper respiratory infections.

Astrid Rosenberg Eskildsen, Tanja Korfitsen Carøe, Ole Steen Mortensen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Astrid Rosenberg EskildsenDepartment of Occupational and Social Medicine, Holbæk Hospital, Holbæk, Denmark. astridrosenberg86@gmail.com.
Tanja Korfitsen CarøeDepartment of Occupational and Social Medicine, Holbæk Hospital, Holbæk, Denmark.
Ole Steen MortensenDepartment of Occupational and Social Medicine, Holbæk Hospital, Holbæk, Denmark.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionIn 2020 a new coronavirus disease spread to millions of people worldwide causing a pandemic. Some experienced long-term consequences of the infection with prolonged symptoms affecting the ability to function in everyday life. However, it is not known if long-term consequences are different than other infectious diseases.

backgroundThe purpose of this study was to assess whether COVID-19 infection could induce long-term effects on physical and mental health that differed significantly from other infectious diseases with similar initial symptoms.

methodsWe conducted a questionnaire study approximately two years after testing patients for COVID-19 infection in the period between March 1st and May 31st, 2020. The participants had been tested for COVID-19 in a hospital in Denmark during the first wave of the pandemic because they had considerable symptoms of a respiratory infection. They all received questionnaires approximately two years after being tested. The survey consisted of validated questionnaires providing data on self-assessed health status (SF-12) and data on self-evaluated work-related functional ability (WORQ). The answers were compared between two groups: COVID-positive and non-COVID-positive. Data on COVID-status was retrieved from a PCR test in 2020 and from the questionnaire sent out during spring 2022.

resultsA total of 463 participants answered the questionnaire (response rate 17%). Compared with nonworking participants, occupational active participants had a higher rate of COVID-19 infection. We found no significant differences in work-related functional ability (WORQ) or in self-assesed health status (PCS) between PCR-COVID-negative participants and the PCR-positive participants when adjusted for relevant confounders. The mental health status (MCS) was slightly higher in non-COVID-19 participants compared to COVID-positive participants when adjusted for working status (49.3 vs. 47.5, p < 0.009).

conclusionsOur study indicates that the impact from COVID-19 infection on long-term self-rated physical health and work-related functioning is comparable between participants tested positive for COVID-19 and participants who had similar acute symptoms but tested negative for COVID-19. Our results emphasize the need for comprehensive rehabilitation strategies focusing on symptom management, irrespective of the specific viral cause.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health StatusMental HealthRespiratory Tract InfectionsAdultDenmarkFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSurveys and QuestionnairesCOVID-19COVID-19 PandemicHealth StatusPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeWork Capacity Evaluation

Identifiers

PMID41724926
PMCPMC13037111

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.