Work-related factors play a significant and independent role in the risk of developing Long-COVID, shows a new study based on the COVICAT cohort and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the University of Turin and the Germans Trias i Pujol Institute (IGTP). The findings, published in BMJ Occupational & Environmental Medicine, highlight that a substantial share of Long-COVID could be prevented through targeted workplace measures and policies.

The public health impact of Long-COVID is far from over. Beyond ongoing infections that continue to cause illness and deaths worldwide, millions of people are living with lasting health consequences. Globally, around 6 in every 100 COVID-19 cases develop Long-COVID, amounting to 400 million affected people and an annual economic impact of roughly 1 trillion dollars, or 1% of the global economy.