Allergic diseases as risk factors for Long-COVID symptoms: Systematic review of prospective cohort studies

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Doreen Wolff - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Joint first author)
  • Karl Philipp Drewitz - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Joint first author)
  • Angela Ulrich - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Joint first author)
  • Doreen Siegels - , Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare (Author)
  • Stefanie Deckert - , Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare (Author)
  • Antonia Anabella Sprenger - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)
  • Paula Ricarda Kuper - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)
  • Jochen Schmitt - , Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare (Author)
  • Daniel Munblit - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Christian Apfelbacher - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Last author)

Abstract

Objective: The role of allergy as a risk factor for Long-COVID (LC) is unclear and has not been thoroughly examined yet. We aimed to systematically review and appraise the epidemiological evidence on allergic diseases as risk factors for LC. Design: This is an initial systematic review. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection and data extraction using Covidence. Risk of bias (RoB) and certainty of evidence (GRADE) were assessed. Random effects meta-analyses were used to pool unadjusted ORs within homogeneous data subsets. Data Sources: We retrieved articles published between January 1st, 2020 and January 19th, 2023 from MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, the WHO-COVID-19 database and the LOVE platform (Epistemonikos Foundation). In addition, citations and reference lists were searched. Eligibility Criteria: We included prospective cohort studies recruiting individuals of all ages with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection that were followed up for at least 12 months for LC symptoms where information on pre-existing allergic diseases was available. We excluded all study designs that were not prospective cohort studies and all publication types that were not original articles. Results: We identified 13 studies (9967 participants, range 39–1950 per study), all assessed as high RoB, due to population selection and methods used to ascertain the exposures and the outcome. Four studies did not provide sufficient data to calculate Odds Ratios. The evidence supported a possible relationship between LC and allergy, but was very uncertain. For example, pre-existing asthma measured in hospital-based populations (6 studies, 4019 participants) may be associated with increased risk of LC (Odds Ratio 1.94, 95% CI 1.08, 3.50) and findings were similar for pre-existing rhinitis (3 studies, 1141 participants; Odds Ratio 1.96, 95% CI 1.61, 2.39), both very low certainty evidence. Conclusions: Pre-existing asthma or rhinitis may increase the risk of LC.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1162-1176
Number of pages15
JournalClinical and experimental allergy
Volume53
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37936547
ORCID /0000-0002-4049-9120/work/148145654

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • COVID-19, allergy, asthma, long-COVID, risk, Prospective Studies, Rhinitis, Humans, Risk Factors, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19/epidemiology, Asthma/epidemiology, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome