Prevalence and Symptom Profiles of Long COVID Among Adults in Houston, Texas: A Cross-Sectional Community Survey

Long COVID, defined by the National Academies of Sciences as an infection-associated chronic condition persisting at least three months following SARS-CoV-2 infection, presents a growing public health challenge. Despite national prevalence estimates of 11 to 15 percent among U.S. adults who have had COVID-19, the general population estimates of approximately 5 to 7 percent population-level symptom burden in diverse metropolitan areas remain insufficiently characterized. A cross-sectional survey was administered to adults residing in Houston and Harris County. Participants self-reported infection history, persistent symptoms lasting at least 90 days, health status, access to care, and functional impacts. Descriptive statistics summarize infected and affected, symptom frequency, and functional limitations. Of 264 eligible respondents who tested positive for COVID and rated the worst symptoms, 92 (34.85 percent) met the operational definition of Long COVID, representing an estimated sample-based prevalence of 16.91 percent across all 544 survey respondents. Given the use of convenience sampling, this figure should be interpreted as descriptive of this sample rather than as a generalized population-level estimate. Fatigue was the most reported persistent symptom (69.32 percent), followed by brain fog (62.5 percent), shortness of breath (48.84 percent), headache or migraine (43.02 percent), and joint or muscle pain (41.38 percent). Cognitive and functional symptoms predominate over respiratory symptoms. These findings demonstrate a substantial burden of persistent, multisystem symptoms in a sample of community-dwelling urban adults, highlighting the need for longitudinal research and targeted public health strategies to address long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in diverse metropolitan settings.