{"doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0300947","title":"The association between prolonged SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and work outcomes","abstract":"While the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the United States labor market are well-established, less is known about the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection and Long COVID on employment. To address this gap, we analyzed self-reported data from a prospective, national cohort study to estimate the effects of SARS-CoV-2 symptoms at three months post-infection on missed workdays and return to work. The analysis included 2,939 adults in the Innovative Support for Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections Registry (INSPIRE) study who tested positive for their initial SARS-CoV-2 infection at the time of enrollment, were employed before the pandemic, and completed a baseline and three-month electronic survey. At three months post-infection, 40.8% of participants reported at least one SARS-CoV-2 symptom and 9.6% of participants reported five or more SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. When asked about missed work due to their SARS-CoV-2 infection at three months, 7.2% of participants reported missing ≥10 workdays and 13.9% of participants reported not returning to work since their infection. At three months, participants with ≥5 symptoms had a higher adjusted odds ratio of missing ≥10 workdays (2.96, 95% CI 1.81-4.83) and not returning to work (2.44, 95% CI 1.58-3.76) compared to those with no symptoms. Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 symptoms were common, affecting 4-in-10 participants at three-months post-infection, and were associated with increased odds of work loss, most pronounced among adults with ≥5 symptoms at three months. Despite the end of the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 and efforts to \"return to normal\", policymakers must consider the clinical and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's employment status and work absenteeism, particularly as data characterizing the numerous health and well-being impacts of Long COVID continue to emerge. Improved understanding of risk factors for lost work time may guide efforts to support people in returning to work.","journal":"PLoS ONE","year":2024,"id":435591,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":12,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.886,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1032115,"name":"Huihui Yu","orcid":"0000-0003-4019-3831","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":414788,"name":"Caitlin Malicki","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":598398,"name":"Michael Gottlieb","orcid":"0000-0003-3276-8375","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":376323,"name":"Joann G. Elmore","orcid":"0000-0002-7311-6835","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":923898,"name":"Mandy J. Hill","orcid":"0000-0001-9778-358X","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":286268,"name":"Ahamed H. Idris","orcid":"0000-0001-7113-6499","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":411344,"name":"Juan Carlos C. Montoy","orcid":"0000-0001-7438-0243","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":433537,"name":"Kelli N. O’Laughlin","orcid":"0000-0003-3027-1883","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":685286,"name":"Kristin L. Rising","orcid":"0000-0003-3882-4956","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":424718,"name":"Kari A. Stephens","orcid":"0000-0002-2520-5526","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":391160,"name":"Erica S. Spatz","orcid":"0000-0002-1557-7713","position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":329865,"name":"Robert A. Weinstein","orcid":"0000-0002-3390-858X","position":12,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1243719,"name":"for the INSPIRE Group","orcid":null,"position":13,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":413443,"name":"Arjun K. Venkatesh","orcid":"0000-0002-8248-0567","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":22,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:00:08.103086Z","pmid":"39074096","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}