Risultati per: Long COVID: principali risultati, meccanismi e raccomandazioni

Objective
To determine if methotrexate or folic acid prescription was associated with differential risk for COVID-19 diagnosis or mortality.

Design
Case–control analysis.

Setting
The population-based UK Biobank (UKBB) cohort.

Participants
Data from 380 380 UKBB participants with general practice prescription data for 2019–2021. Updated medical information was retrieved on 13 December 2021.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
The outcomes of COVID-19 diagnosis and COVID-19-related mortality were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. Exposures evaluated were prescription of folic acid and/or methotrexate. Criteria for COVID-19 diagnosis were (1) a positive SARS-CoV-2 test or (2) ICD-10 code for confirmed COVID-19 (U07.1) or probable COVID-19 (U07.2) in hospital records, or death records. By these criteria, 26 003 individuals were identified with COVID-19 of whom 820 were known to have died from COVID-19. Logistic regression statistical models were adjusted for age sex, ethnicity, Townsend deprivation index, body mass index, smoking status, presence of rheumatoid arthritis, sickle cell disease, use of anticonvulsants, statins and iron supplements.

Results
Compared with people prescribed neither folic acid nor methotrexate, people prescribed folic acid supplementation had increased risk of diagnosis of COVID-19 (OR 1.51 (1.42–1.61)). The prescription of methotrexate with or without folic acid was not associated with COVID-19 diagnosis (p≥0.18). People prescribed folic acid supplementation had positive association with death after a diagnosis of COVID-19 (OR 2.64 (2.15–3.24)) in a fully adjusted model. The prescription of methotrexate in combination with folic acid was not associated with an increased risk for COVID-19-related death (1.07 (0.57–1.98)).

Conclusions
We report an association of increased risk for COVID-19 diagnosis and COVID-19-related death in people prescribed folic acid supplementation. Our results also suggest that methotrexate might attenuate these associations.

Objective
To investigate the association between troponin positivity in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 and increased mortality in the short term.

Setting
Homerton University Hospital, an inner-city district general hospital in East London.

Design
A single-centre retrospective observational study.

Participants
All adults admitted with swab-proven RT-PCR COVID-19 to Homerton University Hospital from 4 February 2020 to 30 April 2020 (n=402).

Outcome measures
We analysed demographic and biochemical data collected from the patient record according to the primary outcome of death at 28 days during hospital admission.

Methods
Troponin positivity was defined above the upper limit of normal according to our local laboratory assay ( >15.5 ng/L for females, >34 ng/L for males). Univariate and multivariate logistical regression analyses were performed to evaluate the link between troponin positivity and death.

Results
Mean age was 65.3 years for men compared with 63.8 years for women. A 2 test showed survival of patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher in those with a negative troponin (p=3.23×10–10) compared with those with a positive troponin. In the multivariate logistical regression, lung disease, age, troponin positivity and continuous positive airway pressure were all significantly associated with death, with an area under the curve of 0.889, sensitivity of 0.886 and specificity of 0.629 for the model. Within this model, troponin positivity was independently associated with short-term mortality (OR 2.97, 95% CI 1.34 to 6.61, p=0.008).

Conclusions
We demonstrated an independent association between troponin positivity and increased short-term mortality in COVID-19 in a London district general hospital.

Background
Major organ complications have been reported in patients hospitalised for COVID-19; most studies lacked controls.

Objective
Examine major organ damage postdischarge among adults hospitalised for COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 controls.

Data sources
MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library from 1 January 2020 to 19 May 2021.

Study eligibility criteria
English language studies of adults discharged from hospital for COVID-19; reporting major organ damage. Single review of abstracts; independent dual review of full text.

Study appraisal and synthesis methods
Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Appraisal Checklist for Cohort Studies. Outcome data were not pooled due to heterogeneity in populations, study designs and outcome assessment methods; findings are narratively synthesised.

Results
Of 124 studies in a full evidence report, 9 included non-COVID controls and are described here. Four of the nine (three USA, one UK) used large administrative databases. Four of the remaining five studies enrolled

Objective
Health-related stigma is considered a social determinant of health equity and a hidden burden of disease. This study aimed to assess the level and dimensions of stigma and respective coping mechanisms in COVID-19 survivors.

Methods
A mixed-methods study with sequential explanatory design was conducted at the University Hospital of Ulm, Germany. Stigma was assessed using the Social Impact Scale (SIS) including adult COVID-19 survivors with mild-to-severe disease. Subsequently, 14 participants were sampled with regard to gender, age and severity of disease for in-depth interviews to understand how stigma was experienced and coping strategies were applied. The questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test and analysis of variance. Content analysis was used for qualitative data.

Results
From 61 participants, 58% were men and mean age was 51 years. The quantitative analysis of the SIS indicated an intermediate level of experienced stigma. Participants experienced stigma mainly as ‘social rejection’ (M=14.22, SD=4.91), followed by ‘social isolation’ (M=10.17, SD=4.16) and ‘internalised shame’ (M=8.39, SD=3.32). There was no significant difference in experienced stigma regarding gender, education, occupational status or residual symptoms. However, participants between 30 and 39 years of age experienced higher levels of stigma than other age groups (p=0.034). The qualitative analysis revealed how stigma seemed to arise from misconceptions creating irrational fear of infection, leading to stereotyping, vilification, discrimination and social exclusion of COVID-19 survivors, leaving them feeling vulnerable. Stigma cut through all social levels, from the individual level at the bottom to the institutional and societal level at the top. Social networks protected from experiencing stigma.

Conclusion
COVID-19-related stigma is a relevant burden in the ongoing pandemic. Providing accurate information and exposing misinformation on disease prevention and treatment seems key to end COVID-19-related stigma.

Objetives
To analyse the effects of COVID-19 lockdown on mental well-being variables of older women, and to determine the influence of lifestyle and age on such effects. The hypothesis of the study was that all parameters related to mental well-being would worsen in older women during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Design
Observational follow-up study. Pre lockdown measurements were taken before the lockdown. Post lockdown measurements were taken as soon as began the de-escalation.

Setting
Senior centres in the Region of Murcia (Spain).

Participants
The sample was composed of 40 older women volunteers, over 54 years of age (mean age=62.35±8.15 years).

Primary and secondary outcome measures
Pre lockdown and post lockdown evaluations were carried out face to face. The following questionnaires were completed: Satisfaction with Life Scale, The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, The Short Form 36 Health Survey, The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and Prevention with Mediterranean Diet.

Results
Post lockdown, a worsening was found in the variables of life satisfaction (p=0.001); depression (p

Stroke, Ahead of Print. Background:COVID-19 has been frequently associated with an increased risk of thrombotic complications. There have also been reports of an increased likelihood of stroke, although its true incidence in patients with COVID-19 is currently unknown.Methods:Electronic databases PubMed and Scopus were searched from inception up to July 30, 2021 to identify randomized controlled studies in patients with confirmed COVID-19 undergoing one or more interventions. Studies were screened for eligibility using a predefined inclusion criterion and selected using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A random-effects model meta-analysis was conducted, and heterogeneity was assessed using I-squared test.Results:Out of 3960 potentially eligible articles, 77 randomized studies (38 732 patients) were included. Mean age of the study population was 55±9.3 years. Females constituted 38% of the study population and mean duration of follow-up after study enrollment was 23±12.9 days. Cumulative incidence of stroke in the overall study population was 0.001 (95% CI, 0.001–0.002) with a total of 65 events in 38 732 patients, corresponding to an absolute incidence of 0.168%. Incidence of stroke in the inpatient population was 0.001 (95% CI, 0.001–0.002; 65 events in 37 069 patients), corresponding to an absolute incidence of 0.175%. No strokes were observed in the outpatient setting.Conclusions:The overall incidence of stroke in patients with COVID-19 appears to be lower than that reported in previous observational reports.

Introduction
Despite the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe COVID-19 outcomes, a small percentage of fully vaccinated persons will develop symptomatic or asymptomatic infections with SARS-CoV-2, which is referred to as ‘breakthrough COVID-19’. People living with HIV (PLWH) appear to have an elevated risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes, yet the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in this population remains unclear due to the limited research efforts in this population in the real world. This study aims to characterise and compare the breakthrough COVID-19 (eg, prevalence and disease severity) between PLWH and non-PLWH and then examine whether HIV markers play a role in COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness within the PLWH population.

Methods and analysis
This cohort study will merge electronic health records data from multiple data sources in South Carolina (SC), including the ‘HIV Cohort’ (n=12 203) identified from the statewide Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System, ‘Vaccine Cohort’ from the Statewide Immunisation Online Network which provides patient-level immunisation records (n=~1.71 million), and ‘COVID-19 Cohort’ which includes healthcare encounters and COVID-19 diagnosis information for all individuals who were tested for COVID-19 (n=~3.41 million). The PLWH will be matched with a comparison group of non-PLWH by the propensity score matching method. To distinguish the role of immunity level in affecting the vaccine effectiveness, we will conduct subgroup analyses to compare the outcome of virally controlled and immunosuppressed PLWH with non-PLWH. Conditional logistic regression and generalised linear models will be employed to analyse the relationship between HIV status and protection durability by adjusting for potential confounders.

Ethics and dissemination
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of South Carolina (Pro00117583) as a Non-Human Subject study. The study’s findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated at national and international conferences and through social media.

Introduction
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a clinical syndrome characterised by persistent cognitive deficits that do not yet fulfil the criteria of dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia using secondary preventive measures such as physical activity and exercise can be a safe way of reducing the risk of further cognitive decline and maintaining independence and improving quality of life. The aim is to systematically review the literature to assess the effectiveness of physical activity and exercise interventions to improve long-term patient-relevant cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes in people living with MCI, including meta-analyses if applicable.

Methods and analysis
We will systematically search five electronic databases from 1995 onward to identify trials reporting on the effectiveness of physical activity and exercise interventions to improve long-term (12+ months) patient-relevant cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes in adults (50+ years) with MCI. Screening procedures, selection of eligible full-texts, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be performed in dual-review mode. Additionally, the reporting quality of the exercise interventions will be assessed using the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template. A quantitative synthesis will only be conducted if studies are homogeneous enough for effect sizes to be pooled. Where quantitative analysis is not applicable, data will be represented in a tabular form and synthesised narratively. People living with MCI will be involved in defining outcome measures most relevant to them in order to assess in how far randomised controlled trials report endpoints that matter to those concerned.

Ethics and dissemination
Results will be disseminated to both scientific and lay audiences by creating a patient-friendly video abstract. This work will inform professionals in primary care about the effectiveness of physical activity and exercise interventions and support them to make evidence-based exercise recommendations for the secondary prevention of dementia in people living with MCI. No ethical approval required.

PROSPERO registration number
CRD42021287166.

Objectives
This paper explored the self-reported prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among junior doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also reports the association between working conditions and psychological distress experienced by junior doctors.

Design
A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted, using the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and Health and Safety Executive scale to measure psychological well-being and working cultures of junior doctors.

Setting
The National Health Service in the UK.

Participants
A sample of 456 UK junior doctors was recruited online during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to January 2021.

Results
Junior doctors reported poor mental health, with over 40% scoring extremely severely depressed (45.2%), anxious (63.2%) and stressed (40.2%). Both gender and ethnicity were found to have a significant influence on levels of anxiety. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis outlined the specific working conditions which significantly predicted depression (increased demands (β=0.101), relationships (β=0.27), unsupportive manager (β=–0.111)), anxiety (relationships (β=0.31), change (β=0.18), demands (β=0.179)) and stress (relationships (β=0.18), demands (β=0.28), role (β=0.11)).

Conclusions
The findings illustrate the importance of working conditions for junior doctors’ mental health, as they were significant predictors for depression, anxiety and stress. Therefore, if the mental health of junior doctors is to be improved, it is important that changes or interventions specifically target the working environment rather than factors within the individual clinician.

Objective
To examine COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness over six 7-day intervals after the first dose and assess underlying bias in observational data.

Design and setting
Retrospective cohort study using Columbia University Irving Medical Center data linked to state and city immunisation registries.

Outcomes and measures
We used large-scale propensity score matching with up to 54 987 covariates, fitted Cox proportional hazards models and constructed Kaplan-Meier plots for two main outcomes (COVID-19 infection and COVID-19-associated hospitalisation). We conducted manual chart review of cases in week 1 in both groups along with a set of secondary analyses for other index date, outcome and population choices.

Results
The study included 179 666 patients. We observed increasing effectiveness after the first dose of mRNA vaccines with week 6 effectiveness approximating 84% (95% CI 72% to 91%) for COVID-19 infection and 86% (95% CI 69% to 95%) for COVID-19-associated hospitalisation. When analysing unexpectedly high effectiveness in week 1, chart review revealed that vaccinated patients are less likely to seek care after vaccination and are more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 during the encounters for other conditions. Secondary analyses highlighted potential outcome misclassification for International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis, the influence of excluding patients with prior COVID-19 infection and anchoring in the unexposed group. Long-term vaccine effectiveness in fully vaccinated patients matched the results of the randomised trials.

Conclusions
For vaccine effectiveness studies, observational data need to be scrutinised to ensure compared groups exhibit similar health-seeking behaviour and are equally likely to be captured in the data. While we found that studies may be capable of accurately estimating long-term effectiveness despite bias in early weeks, the early week results should be reported in every study so that we may gain a better understanding of the biases. Given the difference in temporal trends of vaccine exposure and patients’ baseline characteristics, indirect comparison of vaccines may produce biased results.

Objectives
The current global health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected the whole population, but healthcare workers are particularly exposed to high levels of physical and mental stress. This enormous burden requires both the continuous monitoring of their health conditions and research into various protective factors.

Design
Cross-sectional surveys.

Setting and participants
Self-administered questionnaires were constructed assessing COVID-19-related worries of health workers in Hungary. The surveys were conducted during two consecutive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic (N-first wave=376, N-second wave=406), between 17 July 2020 and 31 December 2020.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
COVID-19-related worry, well-being and distress levels of healthcare workers. We also tested whether psychological resilience mediates the association of worry with well-being and distress. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed.

Results
The results indicated that healthcare workers had high levels of worry and distress in both pandemic waves. When comparing the two waves, enhanced levels of worry (Wald’s 2=4.36, p=0.04) and distress (Wald’s 2=25.18, p

Introduction
Older people receiving healthcare in long-term care contexts (eg, home healthcare, sheltered housing and nursing home contexts) are especially vulnerable to developing frailty and functional decline. Considering the negative effects associated with these conditions and the possibility of preventing them from progressing, it is vital that nurses possess a broad knowledge base related to them. Particularly as prevention related to these conditions lies well within their remit. Such knowledge could guide the development of effective models of care, ensuring continuity and, hence, quality of care. Our objective will be to review published literature on existing models of care targeting frailty and/or functional decline and how these conditions are described by older people themselves, significant others and nurses in relation to long-term care.

Methods and analysis
The scoping review will be conducted in accordance with Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework. Recent methodological developments will be considered. PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO will be searched. Eligibility criteria will be peer-reviewed papers and written in English. All types of study designs will be eligible and included papers will be quality and ethically assessed. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-Protocol checklist for protocols and the PRISMA for Scoping Reviews checklist were followed in this paper.

Ethics and dissemination
As the study outlined in this protocol is a scoping review, no ethics approval was needed for this protocol nor for the upcoming study. The findings will be published in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, the findings will guide a research project following the Medical Research Council’s framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. Thus, supporting us in developing a model of care related to the detection and prevention of frailty and/or functional decline among older people in a long-term care context.

Richard L, Nisenbaum R, Liu M, et al. Ku-gaa-gii pimitizi-win, the COVID-19 cohort study of people experiencing homelessness in Toronto, Canada: a study protocol. BMJ Open 2022;12:e063234. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063234 This article was previously published with an error. The funding information in the published article was incomplete. The complete funding details are as follows: This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (VR5-173211) in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada, through the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF). A-CG is supported by a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics. JLG is supported by a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue-Specific Immunity. SM is supported by a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Modelling and Programme Science. SWH is supported by the University of Toronto and St Michael’s Hospital Chair in Homelessness, Housing & Health. SS is supported by the University of…

Objective
To determine whether COVID-19 has a significant impact on adequacy of household income to meet basic needs (primary outcome) and work absence due to sickness (secondary outcome), both at the onset of illness (short term) and subsequently (long term).

Design
Multilevel mixed regression analysis of self-reported data from monthly online questionnaires, completed 1 May 2020 to 28 October 2021, adjusting for baseline characteristics including age, sex, socioeconomic status and self-rated health.

Setting and participants
Participants (n=16 910) were UK residents aged 16 years or over participating in a national longitudinal study of COVID-19 (COVIDENCE UK).

Results
Incident COVID-19 was independently associated with increased odds of participants reporting household income as being inadequate to meet their basic needs in the short term (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.39, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.73) though this did not persist in the long term (aOR 1.00, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.16). Exploratory analysis revealed a stronger short-term association among those who reported long COVID, defined as the presence of symptoms lasting more than 4 weeks after disease onset, than those reporting COVID-19 without long COVID (p for trend 0.002). Incident COVID-19 associated with increased odds of reporting sickness absence from work in the long term (aOR 4.73, 95% CI 2.47 to 9.06) but not in the short term (aOR 1.34, 95% CI 0.52 to 3.49).

Conclusions
We demonstrate an independent association between COVID-19 and increased risk of economic vulnerability among COVIDENCE participants, measured by both household income sufficiency and sickness absence from work. Taking these findings together with pre-existing research showing that socioeconomic disadvantage increases the risk of developing COVID-19, this may suggest a ‘vicious cycle’ of impaired health and poor economic outcomes.

Trial registration number
NCT04330599.

A rigorous trial showed no benefits from ivermectin, metformin, or fluvoxamine.

Objectives
To quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy in Chile categorised by rural and urban areas, and to correlate life expectancy changes with socioeconomic factors at the municipal level.

Design
Retrospective cross-sectional demographic analysis using aggregated national all-cause death data stratified by year, sex and municipality during the period 2010–2020.

Setting and population
Chilean population by age, sex and municipality from 2002 to 2020.

Main outcome measures
Stratified mortality rates using a Bayesian methodology. These were based on vital and demographic statistics from the national institute of statistics and department of vital statistics of ministry of health. With this, we assessed the unequal impact of the pandemic in 2020 on life expectancy across Chilean municipalities for males and females and analysed previous mortality trends since 2010.

Results
Life expectancy declined for both males and females in 2020 compared with 2019. Urban areas were the most affected, with males losing 1.89 years and females 1.33 years. The strength of the decline in life expectancy correlated positively with indicators of social deprivation and poverty. Also, inequality in life expectancy between municipalities increased, largely due to excess mortality among the working-age population in socially disadvantaged municipalities.

Conclusions
Not only do people in poorer areas live shorter lives, they also have been substantially more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased population health inequalities. Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life expectancy provides a more comprehensive picture of the toll.