Functional impact of long COVID among healthcare workers with comorbidities in Quebec, Canada.

ObjectivesLong COVID is a frequent post-infectious chronic condition that impacts quality of life and work performance. Whether individuals with comorbidities experience a greater functional impact of long COVID is unknown. We evaluated the functional impact of long COVID among healthcare workers (HCWs) with chronic cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, obesity, or a history of depression, and compared it with that of HCWs without comorbidities. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in Quebec, Canada. We compared self-reported long COVID cases to COVID-19-infected controls without long COVID on work ability, work functioning, health-related absenteeism, dyspnea-associated impairment, and psychological distress. We used inverse probability of exposure and robust Poisson regressions to estimate adjusted prevalence differences (aPD) and prevalence ratios. Comorbidity data were obtained from the Quebec integrated chronic disease surveillance system. ResultsA total of 3,754 and 8,439 HCWs with and without comorbidities, respectively, were included. Among HCWs with comorbidities, long COVID was associated with lower work ability, lower work functioning, more health-related long-term absenteeism, more dyspnea-associated impairment, and higher psychological distress (aPDs between 8% (95%CI: 5%-11%) for long-term absenteeism and 27% (95%CI: 22%-31%) for low work functioning). aPDs were greater among HCWs with comorbidities than among those without for low work ability (p=0.01 for interaction), for low work functioning (p=0.03), and for dyspnea-associated impairment (p<0.01). ConclusionLong COVID is associated with significant functional impairment among HCWs with pre-existing chronic conditions. What is already known on this topicPeople with comorbidities and those with long COVID both have affected work performance. What this study addsLong COVID is associated with a greater prevalence of low work ability, low work functioning, and dyspnea-associated impairment among workers with existing comorbidities than among those without. How this study might affect research, practice, or policyPublic health, employers, and physicians should give particular attention to the specific needs of individuals affected by long COVID who already have comorbidities. There is a need for targeted occupational health policies to reduce the functional impact of long COVID among workers with comorbidities.