Fig. 1: Trends in long COVID frequency among COVID-19 cases by age, in four age-homogeneous LS (left) and EHRs (right).
From: Long COVID burden and risk factors in 10 UK longitudinal studies and electronic health records
Left—in four longitudinal studies (MCS N = 1055; NS N = 848; BCS70 N = 889; NCDS N = 709) where participants are of near-identical ages, proportions reporting symptom length of four or more weeks in COVID-19 cases were ascertained from questionnaire responses. Right–in OpenSAFELY (N = 4189), proportions represent individuals within 10-year age categories (with estimates grouped at the mid-point of each category) who have long COVID codes in GP records, hence the proportions are substantially lower than in the corresponding cohort data. Data are presented as percentages and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) as appropriate. Trend lines and 95% CIs shading represent absolute differences in long COVID frequencies with increasing age, estimated by linear meta-regression of data from the four cohorts and from 18- to 70-year-olds in OpenSAFELY (data from older individuals were not modelled; refer to results text for further explanation).
