Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection
ABSTRACT The majority of long coronavirus disease (COVID) symptoms are not specific to COVID-19 and could be explained by other conditions. The present study aimed to explore whether Danish individuals with a perception that they suffer from long COVID have antibodies against the nucleocapsid antige...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02537-22 |
| _version_ | 1811194669049053184 |
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| author | Kamille Fogh Tine Graakjær Larsen Cecilie B. Hansen Rasmus B. Hasselbalch Alexandra R. R. Eriksen Henning Bundgaard Ruth Frikke-Schmidt Linda M. Hilsted Lars Østergaard Isik S. Johansen Ida Hageman Peter Garred Kasper Iversen |
| author_facet | Kamille Fogh Tine Graakjær Larsen Cecilie B. Hansen Rasmus B. Hasselbalch Alexandra R. R. Eriksen Henning Bundgaard Ruth Frikke-Schmidt Linda M. Hilsted Lars Østergaard Isik S. Johansen Ida Hageman Peter Garred Kasper Iversen |
| author_sort | Kamille Fogh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The majority of long coronavirus disease (COVID) symptoms are not specific to COVID-19 and could be explained by other conditions. The present study aimed to explore whether Danish individuals with a perception that they suffer from long COVID have antibodies against the nucleocapsid antigen, as a proxy for detecting previous infection. The study was conducted in February and March 2021, right after the second surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. All members of the social media group on Facebook “Covidramte med senfølger” (“long COVID sufferers'') above the age of 17 years and living in Denmark were invited to participate in a short electronic questionnaire about long COVID risk factors and symptoms. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein was detected in blood samples as a proxy for natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. The final study population comprised 341 participants (90.6% females) who completed blood sampling and answered the questionnaire. A total of 232 (68%) were seropositive (median age, 49.5 years; interquartile range [IQR], 41 to 55 years; 90.1% females). There was no significant difference between sexes and serostatus. Seronegative and seropositive individuals had a similar burden of symptoms that could be attributed to long COVID. Time since perceived COVID-19 was significantly longer in the group of seronegative individuals than the seropositive ones (P < 0.001). This study suggests that long-COVID sufferers are mostly women and showed that a third of the participants did not have detectable anti-N-protein antibodies. It emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as this study indicates an overlap between long-COVID symptoms and symptoms that are possibly of another origin. IMPORTANCE This cohort study included questionnaire data as well as anti-nucleocapsid antibody analysis, allowing us to determine whether participants were seropositive due to vaccination or natural infection. The study emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as antibodies recede with time, and it indicates an overlap between long COVID symptoms and symptoms possibly of another origin. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:30:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-086e7a997e3249338ec5995f218c4f23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T00:30:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-086e7a997e3249338ec5995f218c4f232022-12-22T03:55:21ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972022-12-0110610.1128/spectrum.02537-22Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after InfectionKamille Fogh0Tine Graakjær Larsen1Cecilie B. Hansen2Rasmus B. Hasselbalch3Alexandra R. R. Eriksen4Henning Bundgaard5Ruth Frikke-Schmidt6Linda M. Hilsted7Lars Østergaard8Isik S. Johansen9Ida Hageman10Peter Garred11Kasper Iversen12Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte, DenmarkDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, DenmarkLaboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte, DenmarkDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte, DenmarkDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Clinical Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus, DenmarkDepartment of Infectious Diseases, Odense University Hospital, Odense, DenmarkMental Health Services, Copenhagen, DenmarkLaboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Clinical Immunology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, DenmarkDepartment of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Herlev and Gentofte, DenmarkABSTRACT The majority of long coronavirus disease (COVID) symptoms are not specific to COVID-19 and could be explained by other conditions. The present study aimed to explore whether Danish individuals with a perception that they suffer from long COVID have antibodies against the nucleocapsid antigen, as a proxy for detecting previous infection. The study was conducted in February and March 2021, right after the second surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark. All members of the social media group on Facebook “Covidramte med senfølger” (“long COVID sufferers'') above the age of 17 years and living in Denmark were invited to participate in a short electronic questionnaire about long COVID risk factors and symptoms. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleocapsid (N) protein was detected in blood samples as a proxy for natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. The final study population comprised 341 participants (90.6% females) who completed blood sampling and answered the questionnaire. A total of 232 (68%) were seropositive (median age, 49.5 years; interquartile range [IQR], 41 to 55 years; 90.1% females). There was no significant difference between sexes and serostatus. Seronegative and seropositive individuals had a similar burden of symptoms that could be attributed to long COVID. Time since perceived COVID-19 was significantly longer in the group of seronegative individuals than the seropositive ones (P < 0.001). This study suggests that long-COVID sufferers are mostly women and showed that a third of the participants did not have detectable anti-N-protein antibodies. It emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as this study indicates an overlap between long-COVID symptoms and symptoms that are possibly of another origin. IMPORTANCE This cohort study included questionnaire data as well as anti-nucleocapsid antibody analysis, allowing us to determine whether participants were seropositive due to vaccination or natural infection. The study emphasizes the importance of early confirmation of COVID-19, as antibodies recede with time, and it indicates an overlap between long COVID symptoms and symptoms possibly of another origin.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02537-22long COVIDpost-COVID syndromeprolonged COVIDpost-acute-phase COVID-19PASCantibodies |
| spellingShingle | Kamille Fogh Tine Graakjær Larsen Cecilie B. Hansen Rasmus B. Hasselbalch Alexandra R. R. Eriksen Henning Bundgaard Ruth Frikke-Schmidt Linda M. Hilsted Lars Østergaard Isik S. Johansen Ida Hageman Peter Garred Kasper Iversen Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection Microbiology Spectrum long COVID post-COVID syndrome prolonged COVID post-acute-phase COVID-19 PASC antibodies |
| title | Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection |
| title_full | Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection |
| title_fullStr | Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection |
| title_short | Self-Reported Long COVID and Its Association with the Presence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in a Danish Cohort up to 12 Months after Infection |
| title_sort | self reported long covid and its association with the presence of sars cov 2 antibodies in a danish cohort up to 12 months after infection |
| topic | long COVID post-COVID syndrome prolonged COVID post-acute-phase COVID-19 PASC antibodies |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.02537-22 |
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