Employment Status, Work Limitations, Cognitive Dysfunction, and Sickness Absenteeism Among US Adults with and Without Long COVID

Details

• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Personal Author:
  Ford, Nicole D. ; Dalton, Alexandra F. ; Edwards, Deja ; King, Hope ; Luckhaupt, Sara E. ; Ma, Kevin C. ; Slaughter, Douglas ; Silver, Sharon R. ; Saydah, Sharon
• Description:
  Introduction: Long COVID may limit people's ability to carry out daily activities, including work. Little is known about the potential effect of long COVID on work limitations and absenteeism. We describe employment status and characteristics, work limitations, cognitive dysfunction, and sickness absenteeism among adults with and without long COVID. Methods: Using data from the cross-sectional 2022 National Health Interview Survey, we estimated the prevalence (95% confidence intervals [CI]) of work-related outcomes by long COVID status among US adults ≥ 18 years (n = 26,270). Among employed adults with prior COVID-19 illness, we estimated crude and adjusted odds ratios for work limitations (compared to no limitations), cognitive dysfunction (some or a lot of difficulty with memory or concentration compared to no difficulty), and sickness absenteeism (≥ 11 sick days compared to 0-10 days) in the prior year. All estimates account for survey design and are weighted to the US noninstitutionalized population. Analyses were conducted in 2024. Results: 3.4% of adults reported long COVID. Adults with long COVID more often reported being unable to work due to health or disability compared to adults without long COVID (p = 0.0006). Among employed adults with prior COVID-19 illness, long COVID was associated with higher odds of work limitations (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5), cognitive dysfunction (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.5), and sickness absenteeism (aOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.2-1.5) compared to those who did not develop long COVID. Conclusions: Long COVID was associated with work limitations, cognitive dysfunction, and sickness absenteeism among employed US adults. Workplace accommodations may be important considerations for people with long COVID.
• Subjects:
  Cognition COVID-19 Nervous System Nervous System Diseases Occupational Health Persons With Disabilities Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Absenteeism; Cognitive Dysfunction; COVID-19; Employment; Long COVID COVID-19; Absenteeism; Cognitive Function; Cross Sectional Studies; National Health Interview Survey; NHIS; Disabled Workers; Employment; Long COVID;
• Source:
  Am J Ind Med 2025 Oct; 68(10):909-919
• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; Georgia ; Virginia ; Chicago Region [OSHA] ; Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  11 pdf pages
• Volume:
  68
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071297
• Contact Point Address:
  Nicole D. Ford, Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Email:
  yex9@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c2e4a83c3ad08175bc308fc29cfb51dca32debac0f1d879d99444be05ed6f9a921f20f06f0ce98003d8044819697f189bb2ba8052709856d020f84a8bb73e6c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258774/cdc_258774_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 330.32 KB ]