Factors related to long COVID in the adult population of Brazil

Objective:To analyze the factors related to long COVID in the adult population of Brazil. Methods:Analytical cross-sectional study, web-survey type, with quantitative approach. The sampling was non-probabilistic, of the intentional type, including 228 Brazilian adults who tested positive for COVID-19. Data collection took place through an online questionnaire. To verify the association between qualitative variables, the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used and, in quantitative variables, the Mann-Whitneytest was applied with significance of 0.05.Results:It was observed that there was an association of sociodemographic variables with long COVID. A higher mean age was observed among those who persisted symptoms (p=0.041). The family income of those with persistent symptoms was lower than that of individualswithout persistence (p=0.005). The practice of physical activity was associated with the non-persistence of symptoms (p=0.024). Arterial hypertension was the most prevalent comorbidity in those with persistent symptoms (5.9%). In the clinical picture of COVID-19 associated with the persistence of symptoms, it is observed: chills (p-value=0.009), headache (p-value=0.0027), cough (p-value=0.000), anosmia (p-value=0.048), ageusia (p-value=0.013), dyspnea (p-value=0.000) and diarrhea (p-value=0.018). The most prevalent long COVID symptom was fatigue (62.89%).Conclusion:Age and income were associated with long COVID. Physical activity was associated with no persistence of symptoms. Descriptors: COVID-19; Long Covid; Signs and Symptoms; Risk Factors; Brazil