A recent study by University College London (UCL) researchers has highlighted the substantial economic toll that long Covid could exert on the UK economy, potentially amounting to billions of pounds annually due to lost working days. This research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and published in BMJ Open, focuses on the severe implications of long-term COVID-19 on patients’ ability to resume work and their day-to-day functionality.
The study scrutinised the effects of long Covid on a cohort of 4,087 patients who had been directed to a specialised long Covid clinic and were enrolled in the Living With Covid Recovery (LWCR) programme over two years from August 2020 to August 2022. To manage their condition, participants utilised a mobile application as part of their NHS treatment, allowing them to monitor and record their symptoms. They regularly filled out detailed questionnaires via this app, shedding light on how COVID-19 impacted their daily lives—from general activities and fatigue to cognitive functions like concentration (often referred to as ‘brain fog’) and their overall health-related quality of life.
Despite seeking medical help, most of those referred to long-term COVID clinics across the UK showed minimal recovery in their capacity to handle everyday activities, experience fatigue, and overall quality of life and work performance within the first six months post-referral. Disturbingly, 72% of participants who had reported losing workdays upon initially engaging with the app faced similar challenges six months later. Moreover, over a third (36%) of these individuals were utterly unable to work.
Economically, the repercussions are stark. The study estimated that the productivity losses associated with long Covid averaged around £931 per patient monthly, based on the national average hourly wage and typical working hours per week. Given the Office for National Statistics report that approximately two million individuals in the UK are suffering from long Covid, the aggregate cost to the economy is immense. Professor Manuel Gomes of UCL Epidemiology & Health Care suggested that these productivity losses could reach up to £20 billion annually. Even if only a tenth of all long Covid sufferers in the UK experienced significant impairment, the financial impact could still amount to around £2 billion annually.
The study further revealed that nearly half of the long Covid sufferers exhibited severe functional impairments six months after their initial diagnosis, underlining the prolonged and challenging nature of recovery from this condition. This protracted impairment significantly hampers the affected individuals’ work capacity, posing a personal and broader economic burden.
Professor William Henley from the University of Exeter emphasised the critical need for health interventions that address these ongoing challenges, particularly the fatigue and reduced work capacity that plague long Covid patients. These findings follow earlier research by the same team, which compared the impact of long-term COVID-19 on fatigue and quality of life to that experienced by some cancer patients, illustrating the severe and enduring nature of long-term COVID-19 symptoms.
This body of research underscores the pressing need for targeted healthcare strategies to support the recovery and reintegration into work of those affected by long Covid, not only for the well-being of the individuals but also for the broader economic health of society.
More information: Jiunn Wang et al, Trajectories of functional limitations, health-related quality of life and societal costs in individuals with long COVID: a population-based longitudinal cohort study, BMJ Open. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088538
Journal information: BMJ Open Provided by University College London