Healthcare utilisation in people with long COVID: an OpenSAFELY cohort study.

Autor: Lin LY; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK. liang-yu.lin@lshtm.ac.uk.; Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 100, Taiwan. liang-yu.lin@lshtm.ac.uk.; Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, 100, Taiwan. liang-yu.lin@lshtm.ac.uk., Henderson AD; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Carlile O; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Dillingham I; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., Butler-Cole BFC; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., Marks M; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.; Hospital for Tropical Diseases, University College London Hospital, London, WC1E 6JD, UK.; Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK., Briggs A; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Jit M; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Tomlinson LA; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Bates C; TPP, TPP House, 129 Low Lane, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 5PX, UK., Parry J; TPP, TPP House, 129 Low Lane, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 5PX, UK., Bacon SCJ; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., Goldacre B; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., Mehrkar A; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., MacKenna B; Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, University of Oxford, NuffieldOxford, OX2 6GG, UK., Eggo RM; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK., Herrett E; Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC medicine [BMC Med] 2024 Jun 20; Vol. 22 (1), pp. 255. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 20.
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03477-x
Abstrakt: Background: Long COVID potentially increases healthcare utilisation and costs. However, its impact on the NHS remains to be determined.
Methods: This study aims to assess the healthcare utilisation of individuals with long COVID. With the approval of NHS England, we conducted a matched cohort study using primary and secondary care data via OpenSAFELY, a platform for analysing anonymous electronic health records. The long COVID exposure group, defined by diagnostic codes, was matched with five comparators without long COVID between Nov 2020 and Jan 2023. We compared their total healthcare utilisation from GP consultations, prescriptions, hospital admissions, A&E visits, and outpatient appointments. Healthcare utilisation and costs were evaluated using a two-part model adjusting for covariates. Using a difference-in-difference model, we also compared healthcare utilisation after long COVID with pre-pandemic records.
Results: We identified 52,988 individuals with a long COVID diagnosis, matched to 264,867 comparators without a diagnosis. In the 12 months post-diagnosis, there was strong evidence that those with long COVID were more likely to use healthcare resources (OR: 8.29, 95% CI: 7.74-8.87), and have 49% more healthcare utilisation (RR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.48-1.51). Our model estimated that the long COVID group had 30 healthcare visits per year (predicted mean: 29.23, 95% CI: 28.58-29.92), compared to 16 in the comparator group (predicted mean visits: 16.04, 95% CI: 15.73-16.36). Individuals with long COVID were more likely to have non-zero healthcare expenditures (OR = 7.66, 95% CI = 7.20-8.15), with costs being 44% higher than the comparator group (cost ratio = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.39-1.50). The long COVID group costs approximately £2500 per person per year (predicted mean cost: £2562.50, 95% CI: £2335.60-£2819.22), and the comparator group costs £1500 (predicted mean cost: £1527.43, 95% CI: £1404.33-1664.45). Historically, individuals with long COVID utilised healthcare resources more frequently, but their average healthcare utilisation increased more after being diagnosed with long COVID, compared to the comparator group.
Conclusions: Long COVID increases healthcare utilisation and costs. Public health policies should allocate more resources towards preventing, treating, and supporting individuals with long COVID.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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