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The following is a summary of “Long-term health outcomes following hospitalisation for COVID-19: a 30- month cohort analysis,” published in the February 2025 issue of Infectious Diseases by Tubiana et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the persistence of increased risks of death and hospitalization for organ disorders after discharge from COVID-19 hospitalization.
They used the French claims database to track patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from 2020/01/01 to 2020/08/30 for up to 30 months. Patients were matched to general population (GP) controls who were not hospitalized for COVID-19 during this period. Outcomes included all-cause mortality and organ disorder-related hospitalizations identified through ICD-10 codes. Cumulative incidences were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, while incidence rate ratios (IRR) and adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratios were calculated for 6-month periods using Cox regressions.
The results showed that 63,990 patients with COVID-19 (mean age 65 years [SD 18], 53.1% male) were matched to 3,19,891 controls. The weighted cumulative incidences per 1,00,000 person-years (PY) for all-cause mortality were 5,218/105 [95% CI 5,127; 5,305] in patients with COVID-19 and 4,013/105 [95% CI 3,960; 4,047] in controls. For all-cause hospitalization, rates were 16,334/105 [95% CI 16,162; 16,664] in patients with COVID-19 and 12,095/1050 [95% CI 12,024; 12,197] in controls. Patients with COVID-19 had higher hospitalization risks for cardiovascular (IRR 1.22 [1.15; 1.29]), psychiatric (IRR 1.41 [1.29; 1.53]), neurological (IRR 1.50 [1.41; 1.61]), and respiratory events (IRR 1.99 [1.87; 2.12]). The excess risk declined after 6 months but remained elevated up to 30 months for neurological and respiratory disorders, chronic renal failure, and diabetes.
Investigators concluded that COVID-19 hospitalization resulted in a prolonged increased risk of death or re-hospitalization for multi-organ disorders up to 30 months post-discharge.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23744235.2025.2452862#abstract
