Working days lost to long COVID could cost the economy billions every year, finds study

Working days lost to long COVID could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

The research, published in BMJ Open examined the impact of long COVID on 4,087 patients who were referred to a long COVID clinic and registered in the Living With COVID Recovery (LWCR) program between August 2020 and August 2022.

As part of their NHS treatment for the condition, the patients used a mobile app to track their symptoms.

Patients were asked to complete questionnaires on the app about how long COVID was affecting them – considering the impact of the condition on their day-to-day activities, levels of fatigue, brain fog, health-related quality of life, relationships and ability to work.

The study found that on average, all the individuals who had been referred to long COVID clinics in the UK reported little improvement in their ability to perform day-to-day activities, fatigue, quality of life and ability to work over the first six months after seeking help for their symptoms.

Almost three quarters (72%) of the participants who reported loss of working days when they first started to use the app, and remained engaged in the mobile app, continued to report working days lost at six months. And over a third (36%) of these were unable to work at all.

The researchers found that the economic burden of long COVID is primarily driven by productivity losses, which averaged £931 per patient per month over the six-month period.

This was calculated using the national average hourly pay (£13.57 per hour) and the average working hours per week (33.9 hours).

The ONS states that around two million people have long COVID in the UK. This means that the condition could potentially be extremely costly for society.

Senior author, Professor Manuel Gomes (UCL Epidemiology & Health Care), said, “The costs associated with working days lost could potentially cost the economy up to £20 billion (£931 x two million people x 12 months) a year.

“Obviously, patients in our sample are likely to be more symptomatic and/or impaired than the average long COVID patient, but even if only 10% of all long COVID patients in the UK were significantly impaired, that would equate to £2 billion per year.”

Further findings from the study showed that around half (46.3%) of long COVID patients had severe functional impairment at six months, emphasizing ongoing challenges in long COVID recovery.

The new study follows the team’s findings from last year, that show how long COVID can impact fatigue and quality of life worse than some cancers.

Professor William Henley (University of Exeter) added, “The persistent functional impairment and poor quality of life of long COVID patients over time significantly affects the individual’s ability to work and presents a significant economic burden to the individuals themselves as well as to the economy.

“Addressing ongoing challenges related to fatigue and its impact on work absenteeism should be a priority for future health care interventions aimed at supporting the recovery of individuals with long COVID.”

The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers at the University of Exeter, Barts Health NHS Trust, the University of Southampton and Living With.