Article Impact Level: HIGH Data Quality: STRONG Summary of BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2025-EPICOHabstracts.140 Dr. Sara De Matteis, et al.
Points
- The study analyzed over two thousand employed adults with prior infections and found that nearly one-quarter developed Long COVID symptoms lasting longer than three months.
- Poisson regression models indicated that female sex and severe initial infection increased risk while prior vaccination offered significant protection against long-term sequelae.
- Workers in high-contact sectors such as healthcare and retail demonstrated a forty-four percent higher likelihood of developing Long COVID compared to those in low-risk occupations.
- Specific occupational exposures like night shift work and commuting via public transport were associated with risk ratios of 1.88 and 1.56 respectively.
- The findings suggest that enforcing workplace safety measures and recognizing occupational exposure could significantly reduce the global burden and economic impact of Long COVID.
Summary
This prospective population-based cohort study, drawn from the COVICAT project in Catalonia, Spain, investigated the association between occupational determinants and the incidence of Long COVID. The analysis included 2,054 employed adults aged 18–70 with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who completed follow-up surveys between 2020 and 2023. Of this cohort, 486 individuals (23.7%) developed Long COVID, defined as post-infection symptoms persisting for at least three months, with neurological (64%) and musculoskeletal (38%) symptoms being predominant among the cases.
Poisson regression modeling identified significant independent predictors of Long COVID beyond clinical history. Individual risk factors included female sex (RR 1.45 [95% CI 1.22–1.73]), presence of three or more comorbidities (RR 2.32 [95% CI 1.75–3.07]), and severe initial infection (RR 9.60 [95% CI 6.10–15.1]). Conversely, prior COVID-19 vaccination proved protective (RR 0.53 [95% CI 0.43–0.64]). Occupational analysis revealed that workers in high-risk sectors—specifically health/social care, education, and retail—faced a 44% higher likelihood of developing Long COVID compared to low-risk roles.
Specific workplace exposures were strong drivers of increased risk, including close contact with the public (RR 1.50 [95% CI 1.18–1.90]), lack of social distancing (RR 1.47 [95% CI 1.16–1.85]), and non-use of facemasks (RR 1.41 [95% CI 1.09–1.83]). Additionally, commuting via public transport (RR 1.56 [95% CI 1.18–2.05]) and night shift work (RR 1.88 [95% CI 1.38–2.56]) significantly elevated risk. These findings underscore that occupational risk factors are modifiable determinants, suggesting that targeted workplace interventions like enhanced personal protective equipment and distancing protocols are essential for mitigating the Long COVID burden.
Link to the article: https://oem.bmj.com/content/82/Suppl_2/A58.3
References
Matteis, S. D., Consonni, D., Espinosa, A., Cid, R. D., Magriña, N. B., Castaño-Vinyals, G., Karachaliou, M., Alba Hidalgo, M. A., Papantoniou, K., Garcia-Aymerich, J., Kogevinas, M., & Straif, K. (2025). 8271982 Occupational factors of Long-COVID in a population-based cohort in Catalonia: The COVICAT study. Tuesday 16:00-17:30 COVID-19, A58.3-A59. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2025-EPICOHabstracts.140
