Prevalence and factors associated with long Covid in older people in the State of Paraná

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the factors associated with long Covid in older people 18 months after the acute phase of the disease. Method: This cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted with older individuals who had Covid-19 in 2020 and survived the disease in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Sociodemographic, lifestyle habits, health and treatment information, as well as information on signs, symptoms and sequelae of the disease were collected through telephone interviews conducted 18 months after notification or hospital discharge. For the analyses, descriptive measures, association tests, and Poisson regression models with robust variance were used. Results: Of the 345 older people who participated in the study, 224 (65%) still had some symptom or sequelae of Covid-19 18 months after the illness. Being a smoker or former smoker (PR = 2.21; 95% CI = 1.06;3.36), self-reported sleep quality (PR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.16–0.47), and the use of continuous medication (RP = 5.24; 95% CI = 2.64–7.85; p < 0.0001) were associated with long-term Covid. Conclusion: Morbidity and polypharmacy rates are high in this population, contributing to the persistence of symptoms. In this context, it becomes essential to align health services, together with professionals, to meet the needs arising from the sequelae in older people.