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Long COVID research in minority ethnic populations may be lost in translation

Nature Medicine volume 30, pages 2390–2391 (2024)Cite this article

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SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to multiorgan systemic damage and prolonged symptoms over many weeks and months, a condition known as long COVID or post-COVID syndrome or condition. Certain populations, such as older people, those with chronic comorbidities and severe infections, socioeconomically deprived populations, and minority ethnic populations, have been disproportionately affected by acute COVID-19. A plethora of studies into long COVID have been published over the past three years, including several systematic reviews. However, data on long COVID in minority ethnic groups and across intersectional analysis are lacking. Where data have been reported, inconsistent estimates for the prevalence of long COVID have been reported. Furthermore, most published data are from high-income countries, that either fail to report demographic information or are not representative of the general population. Data from low-income countries for comparison of long COVID rates and symptoms are lacking.

One large UK analysis of ten longitudinal studies reported that overall odds of long COVID symptoms lasting more than four weeks was significantly lower in south Asian and Black populations compared to white populations1. By contrast, a large Danish nationwide cohort study using routine data suggested that people from minority ethnic groups from North Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia had significantly greater risk of long COVID compared to ‘native Danes’ (participants originating and/or born in Denmark)2.

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Acknowledgements

K.K. is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands (ARC EM) and the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). A.B. has received research funding from the NIHR, European Union, British Medical Association and Astra Zeneca. M.C. is director of the Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, director of the Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research, and is an NIHR senior investigator. M.C. receives funding from the NIHR, UK Research and Innovation, NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands, and the NIHR Birmingham-Oxford Blood and Transplant Research Unit in Precision Transplant and Cellular Therapeutics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Kamlesh Khunti

  2. NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Kamlesh Khunti

  3. Institute of Health Informatics, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, UK

    Amitava Banerjee

  4. Department of Cardiology, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK

    Amitava Banerjee & Rachael A. Evans

  5. Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Rachael A. Evans

  6. NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Respiratory Department, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK

    Melanie Calvert

  7. Centre for Patient Reported Outcomes Research, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Melanie Calvert

  8. NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration West Midlands, University Hospital Birmingham and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Melanie Calvert

  9. Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Melanie Calvert

Authors
  1. Kamlesh Khunti
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  2. Amitava Banerjee
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  3. Rachael A. Evans
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  4. Melanie Calvert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kamlesh Khunti.

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Competing interests

K.K. was chair of the ethnicity subgroup of the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), and has acted as a consultant, speaker or received grants for investigator-initiated studies from Astra Zeneca and Pfizer. A.B. has acted as a consultant or speaker for Astra Zeneca, Pfizer and Shionogi and investigator-initiated studies from Astra Zeneca. M.C. has received funding from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Macmillan Cancer Support, UCB Pharma, Janssen, GSK, Gilead Sciences, European Commission, European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, and the Brain Tumour Charity; personal fees from Aparito, CIS Oncology, Halfloop, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Daiichi Sankyo, Glaukos, GSK, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Genentech and Vertex Pharmaceuticals outside the submitted work; in addition, a family member owns shares in GSK. M.C. is codeveloper of the ‘Symptom Burden Questionnaire for Long COVID’. K.K. (chair), A.B. R.A.E. and M.C. are members of the National Long Covid Research Group that informs the chief medical officer for England.

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Khunti, K., Banerjee, A., Evans, R.A. et al. Long COVID research in minority ethnic populations may be lost in translation. Nat Med 30, 2390–2391 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03070-y

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