Post-Covid-19 symptoms, subjective work ability and sick leave 2 years after acute infection…, 2025, Braig+

[SNT Gatchaman]

Post-Covid-19 symptoms, subjective work ability and sick leave 2 years after acute infection—results from a population-based long COVID study

Spoiler: Authors

Braig, Stefanie; Peter, Raphael S; Nieters, Alexandra; Kräusslich, Hans-Georg; Brockmann, Stefan O; Göpel, Siri; Merle, Uta; Steinacker, Jürgen M; Kern, Winfried V; Rothenbacher, Dietrich

BACKGROUND
The post-COVID syndrome (PCS) is associated with reduced work ability, increased sick leave and delayed return to work. Yet, the relationship is complex due to a heterogeneous set of PCS symptoms and the multifaceted nature of work ability.

METHODS
Based on a population-based longitudinal study (n = 5422, 18–65 years) conducted in the Southwest of Germany, we describe the evolution of work ability (mWAI1), task-related work ability (mWAI2), and sick leave 6–12 and 24 months after a SARS-CoV-2 index infection and confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction. Descriptive analyses on mWAI1 and mWAI2 and adjusted linear regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS
1.1% of our population was continuously on sick leave since the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection (about 24 months after the infection). Pre-infection mWAI1 was not regained due to persisting or newly occurring symptoms of fatigue, neurocognitive impairment and anxiety/depression/sleep disorders that were related also to lower mWAI2. Effect modifiers of the associations between risk factors and mWAI1 or mWAI2 were age, working tasks, and comorbid mental conditions. Further SARS-CoV-2 infections were associated with poorer mWAI2 in physically (regression coefficient, 95% confidence intervals: -3.45 (-6.15,-0.74) but not mentally working participants (0.20 (-0.54,0.95)) and age proved to be a stronger risk factor for mWAI2 in physically working subjects.

CONCLUSIONS
We confirmed known risk factors but further emphasized effect modifiers like working task or comorbid mental disorders for work ability and described variables related to sick leave after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Web | DOI | PDF | BMC Public Health | Open Access

 

[SNT Gatchaman]

In our population-based cohort of 5244 predominantly mentally working participants, assessed at about 6-12 months after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, a significant decrease in work ability was observed compared to pre-infection of which a large proportion remained even after 24 months. Post-COVID related symptoms such as fatigue, neurocognitive impairment and, to a lesser extent, anxiety/depression/sleep disorders were important risk factors for a lower overall and task-related work ability.

In our population-based cohort study, 1.1% of participants had been continuously on sick leave since the initial infection, while 3.7% experienced recurrent sick leave at 24 months. According to data from a German health insurance company, approximately 0.4% of employees were wholly or partially withdrawn from the labour market due to PCS. Similarly, over a 30-month period, PCS burden decreased, but 1% still experienced significant restrictions in their daily lives. In our study, a proportion of 4.0% were not employed at follow-up, highlighting the potential economic burden of PCS. Variation in labour market withdrawal across studies likely reflects differences in populations and work environments.

The central role of fatigue in PCS symptoms is well described. Moreover, it was highlighted that, despite rehabilitation, PCS symptoms such as fatigue, neurocognitive impairments, and muscle/joint pain persisted, whereas dyspnea and chest pain showed significant improvement. Our findings confirmed the detrimental impact of fatigue and neurocognitive impairment, with the latter being the most harmful.

 

[rvallee]

As always, it might be expensive to research and treat diseases, but it's far more expensive to not bother. The only thing more expensive is to do useless things that have no impact in outcomes, or even worse if they worsen outcomes, which is definitely the case with the psychosomatic rehabilitation models. The idea that it's "despite rehabilitation" does not make sense because it has been thoroughly proven that such rehabilitation does not change outcomes. It may as well have said "despite psychic seances" for all that this matters.

And of course that doesn't take it fully into account because a lot of people are barely hanging on, have reduced their work hours, stopped going to school, altering career paths, did not start businesses, did not have children or invent things that would have benefited society, and there is no way to assess things that would have happened but did not because of those changes. They did try but it definitely undercounts it.

Only about 35-40% of the population of a country like Germany is primarily working, the rest are too young, too old, already disabled or have other reasons they are not working. So you have to pretty much double this % to get the net effect on GDP, probably close to a 2-3% reduction of GDP, which is highly significant as GDP growth is generally in the 2-4% range, although calculating the true effect is something only an advanced AI could do.

We told them, because it happened to us and we knew what we were talking about. They said "nah, don't care, won't happen". It's usually the best idea to listen to experts, but here we are the experts, still, so it doesn't change that, but the massive failure of expert systems is also causing its own problems, because if experts can screw up something this big and so openly, what else are they screwing up?

And in the context of health care and medicine, we can say confidently: a whole damn lot. Everything psychosomatic ideology touches it makes worse. And still, especially in Germany, they keep pushing not just a completely ineffective solution to it, but a counterproductive one that actually amplifies all the problems. Psychosomatic ideology is solidly a top 5 worst ideology of all time in terms of total harm to human prosperity and well-being.