Short-Term Post-COVID-19 Symptoms in Chinese Patients from 31 Provinces: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused a pandemic in January 2020. Its mutations and high infectivity have serious health and economic implications. This study aimed to clarify the short-term symptoms, duration, and influencing factors in people recovering from COVID-19 after China’s dynamic zero-COVID-19 policy was implemented in December, 2022. Methods: We included data from a large-scale online survey conducted in China between January 14 and February 1, 2023. Participants were individuals of all ages. Chi-squared tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with different symptoms. Findings: Overall, 21,012 patients from seven regions of China were included in this study, with 71·22%. being female. For most patients, the period from symptom onset to a negative nucleic acid test result was ≤10 days (72·33%). The distribution of symptoms in different systems varied at different times, with respiratory (1–4 weeks) and psycho-cardiology (5–8 weeks) symptoms being the most common. Multivariate analysis identified male sex, no comorbidity, and living in northeast and northwest China (compared with central China) as independent factors associated with less likelihood of having symptoms, while age (41–60 years) was deemed a possible risk factor (compared with 18–40 years). Interpretation: Short-term symptoms of the respiratory and psycho-cardiology systems were most common after COVID-19 recovery. Sex, age, geographical region, and comorbidities were potential influencing factors for the development of short-term symptoms. Funding: The Youth Qi-Huang Scholarship was received from the State Administration of Traditional Chinese medicine (Chinese Traditional Medicine Scholarship [2020] No. 218) (YL2202020414). Declaration of Interest: All other authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: The Ethics Committee at Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine provided institutional review board approval (approval number: TJUTCM-EC20230002). Informed consent was discussed as part of the introduction to the questionnaire; the introduction mentioned the survey objective, initiatives, content, confidentiality of information, and the time required to fill out the questionnaire. After acceptance of the above, patients could voluntarily answer and submit their questionnaires.