# Real-world evidence on long COVID-19 in Greece: A multicenter, cross-sectional study (LONCOV2)

## TL;DR

This study provides real-world data on long COVID in Greece, showing common symptoms like fatigue and the protective role of vaccination.

## Contribution

The study presents new real-world evidence on long COVID manifestations and the impact of vaccination in a Greek population.

## Key findings

- Fatigue/malaise was the most common long-term symptom, affecting 69.9% of patients.
- Vaccination was found to be protective against nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms.
- Multisystem involvement highlights the need for multidisciplinary care in managing long COVID.

## Abstract

•Real-world data on long COVID were collected from over 1000 adults in Greece.•Fatigue/malaise (69.9%) was the most common long-term COVID-19 manifestation.•Respiratory, nervous, and musculoskeletal symptoms, and daily living issues were common.•Most patients (74.4%) had been vaccinated prior to infection.•Vaccination was protective against nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms.•Multisystem involvement supports the need for multidisciplinary long COVID care.

Real-world data on long COVID were collected from over 1000 adults in Greece.

Fatigue/malaise (69.9%) was the most common long-term COVID-19 manifestation.

Respiratory, nervous, and musculoskeletal symptoms, and daily living issues were common.

Most patients (74.4%) had been vaccinated prior to infection.

Vaccination was protective against nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms.

Multisystem involvement supports the need for multidisciplinary long COVID care.

This study aimed to provide real-world data on the clinical presentation and management of long COVID in Greece.

This non-interventional, nationwide, multicenter, cross-sectional study included adults with a history of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection who presented with suspected long-term COVID-19 manifestations ≥4 weeks after acute infection.

Among 1011 patients (mean ± SD age: 55.95 ± 15.74 years; 56.18% female; 5.04% hospitalized) enrolled between December 2022 and May 2023, the most affected Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) System Organ Class (SOC) was General disorders and administration site conditions (75.67%), with fatigue/malaise as the predominant symptom (69.93%). This was followed by Respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders (60.34%), with cough (50.64%) and dyspnea (24.83%) as leading symptoms. Social circumstances, specifically impairments in daily living activities (44.21%), Nervous system disorders (40.26%), mainly headache (23.24%), and Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (27.70%), mainly myalgia (24.63%), were also prominent. The majority (74.38%) had been vaccinated prior to infection, with vaccination shown to be protective against nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms. Females were more prone to systemic, psychiatric, nervous, and musculoskeletal symptoms and impairments in daily activities, but less prone to respiratory symptoms.

Multisystem long-term COVID-19 complications were observed, underscoring the importance of multidisciplinary management of this complex, multifaceted condition.