Long COVID Among People With Preexisting Disabilities
<b>Objectives.</b> To document the prevalence of long COVID among a sample of survey respondents with long-term disabilities that existed before 2020 and to compare the prevalence among this group with that among the general population. <b>Methods.</b> We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive study using data from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability (n = 2262) and comparative data for the general population from the federal Household Pulse Survey (HPS). <b>Results.</b> The prevalence of long COVID was higher among people with preexisting disabilities than in the general population (40.6% vs 18.9%). <b>Conclusions.</b> People with preexisting disabilities experienced and continue to experience increased exposure to COVID-19 and barriers to accessing health care, COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19 tests. These barriers, combined with long-standing health disparities in this population, may have contributed to the greater prevalence of long COVID among people with disabilities. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> The needs of people with disabilities must be centered in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2024;114(11):1261-1264. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307794).
Authors
- Noelle K. Kurth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2525-3605)
- Jean P. Hall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7236-1807)
- Kelsey S. Goddard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0477-3951)
- Lisa McCorkell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3261-6737)
Institutions
- Fertility & Lifespan Medical Institute (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Public Health
- Published
- 2024-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2024.307794
- Citations
- 9
- Primary Topic
- Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.32
Funders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Australian Government
- Administration for Community Living
- National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research