Al-Oraibi, A. et al., (2025) summarised by Amanda Harrington-Vail
Introduction
This study used data from the UK Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 Outcomes in Healthcare Workers study. It looked at the percentage of UK healthcare workers who reported COVID-19 symptoms lasting longer than five weeks and the factors associated with the occurrence of Long Covid in an ethnically diverse group of participants. Data was collected electronically between December 2020 and March 2021. Participants were aged 16 years or older, living in the UK and working as a health or care professional in a healthcare setting and/or registered with one of the seven major UK healthcare professional regulatory bodies. The main outcome was Long Covid and the impact of ethnicity on its development.
Summary
The study used demographic information, health status and existing long-term conditions in their analysis. A total of 11,513 healthcare workers were included in the study. Of these, 20.25% reported COVID-19 symptoms lasting more than five weeks, and 22.52% of these had experienced Long Covid. There were no significant differences in risk of developing Long Covid by ethnic group. However, the majority of those experiencing Long Covid were female (80.0%) and were slightly older than those who did not experience Long Covid (approximately 36-54 years of age). Regarding specific roles, healthcare workers in nursing and midwifery plus allied health professions had higher odds of experiencing Long Covid than those in medical roles. Other factors significantly associated with Long Covid included self-reported psychological conditions (e.g. depression and anxiety) and respiratory conditions (e.g. asthma).
Conclusion
In this large and ethnically diverse study, more than one in five UK healthcare workers reported experiencing Long Covid symptoms after catching COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic. This study found that older females within nursing/midwifery and allied health professions were more likely to experience Long Covid. Notably, there were no significant differences in the risk of Long Covid by ethnic group. Further research and collaborative efforts are needed to address these factors, develop targeted interventions and to development of the disease over time.
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