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Abstract More than 200 million COVID-19 survivors have lasting symptoms after recovering, but the duration and related risk factors remain uncertain. This study focused on all 6551 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at a medical institution in Hiroshima from March 2020 to July 2022. In November 2022, a questionnaire survey was conducted regarding post-COVID symptoms and their duration. The prevalence and duration of post-COVID symptoms were illustrated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Risk factors for symptoms lasting over 3 months and interfering with daily life were assessed via multivariate logistic regression. A total of 2421 survivors responded: 1391 adults, 1030 children, median age 34 years (IQR 9–55), 51·2% male, 36·7% hospitalized, median time from infection to the survey was 295 days (IQR 201–538). Upon their initial recovery, the prevalence of post-COVID symptoms was 78·4% in adults and 34·6% in children. Three months later, the rates were 47·6% and 10·8%. After over one year, they were 31·0% and 6·8%. Regarding symptoms interfere with daily life, 304 people (12.6%) experienced symptoms lasting for over three months, with independent risk factors including age, being female, diabetes mellitus, infection during the Delta period, and current smoking. There was no significant association between vaccination history and post-COVID symptoms.

Abstract Perceived discrimination and work impairment are commonly observed in COVID-19 survivors, but their relationship has not been well understood. We aimed to evaluate the role of discrimination in the development of psychological distress and work impairment in COVID-19 survivors. From April 2020 to November 2021, 309 patients were recruited at two designated COVID-19 hospitals in Japan. Participants completed a standardized questionnaire including COVID-19 sequelae, psychological distress, impairments in work performance and perceived discrimination. The majority of participants (62.5%) experienced one or more COVID-19 sequelae. Psychological distress was observed in 36.9% and work impairment in 37.9%. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, COVID-19 sequelae and discrimination were associated with both psychological distress and work impairment. Mediation analysis demonstrated that the direct effect of sequelae on work impairment was non-significant after accounting for psychological distress, suggesting that the effect of sequelae on work impairment was mainly mediated through psychological distress. These findings were replicated in a subgroup analysis limited to patients with mild COVID-19. We conclude that discrimination plays an important role in the development of psychological distress and work impairment, and that both discrimination and psychological distress should be targets of intervention in COVID-19 survivors.

Abstract This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the post-acute consequences of COVID-19. We conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey on sequelae, psychological distress (K6), impairments in work performance (WFun), and COVID-19–related experiences of stigma and discrimination in two designated COVID-19 hospitals in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, between August 2020 and March 2021. The prevalence of sequelae was calculated by age and COVID-19 severity. Factors independently associated with sequelae or psychological distress were identified using logistic regression analysis. Among 127 patients who had recovered from COVID-19, 52.0% had persistent symptoms at a median of 29 days [IQR 23–128] after COVID-19 onset. Among patients with mild COVID-19, 49.5% had sequelae. The most frequent symptoms were olfactory disorders (15.0%), taste disorders (14.2%), and cough (14.2%). Multivariate analysis showed that age was an independent risk factor for sequelae (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] for ≥ 60 years vs.

Abstract This study aimed to develop the feasible and effective universal screening strategy of the notable SARS-CoV-2 variants by Sanger Sequencing Strategy and then practically applied it for mass screening in Hiroshima, Japan. A total of 734 samples from COVID-19 confirmed cases in Hiroshima were screened for the notable SARS-CoV-2 variants (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.617.1, C.37, B.1.1.529, etc.). The targeted spike region is amplified by nested RT-PCR using in-house designed primer set hCoV-Spike-A and standard amplification protocol. Additionally, randomly selected 96 samples were also amplified using primer sets hCoV-Spike-B and hCoV-Spike-C. The negative amplified samples were repeated for second attempt of amplification by volume-up protocol. Thereafter, the amplified products were assigned for Sanger sequencing using corresponding primers. The positive amplification rate of primer set hCoV-Spike-A, hCoV-Spike-B and hCoV-Spike-C were 87.3%, 83.3% and 93.8% respectively for standard protocol and increased to 99.6%, 95.8% and 96.9% after second attempt by volume-up protocol. The readiness of genome sequences was 96.9%, 100% and 100% respectively. Among 48 mutant isolates, 26 were B.1.1.7 (Alpha), 7 were E484K single mutation and the rest were other types of mutation. Moreover, 5 cluster cases with single mutation at N501S were firstly reported in Hiroshima. This study indicates the reliability and effectiveness of Sanger sequencing to screen large number of samples for the notable SARS-CoV-2 variants. Compared to the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), our method introduces the feasible, universally applicable, and practically useful tool for identification of the emerging variants with less expensive and time consuming especially in those countries where the NGS is not practically available. Our method allows not only to identify the pre-existing variants but also to examine other rare type of mutation or newly emerged variants and is crucial for prevention and control of pandemic.