P-273 COVID-19, LONG-COVID AND RETURN-TO-WORK: RESULTS OF A SURVEY FOR OCCUPATIONAL PHYSICIANS FROM AN ITALIAN REGION

Abstract

Introduction The impact of long-COVID on workers’ health as well as the issues related to return-to-work (RTW) and COVID-19 are still little known. We present the results of an analysis of expert opinions on these problems from Italian occupational physicians (OP). Methods A 24-items questionnaire was administered in spring 2023 to a sample of OP from Emilia-Romagna. The survey investigates long-COVID symptoms, RTW and COVID-19 issues experienced by the workers followed by the OP. Results Sixty-two OP answered: the 90% provided health surveillance (HS) to workers with long-COVID. The 33% thinks that long-COVID is more frequent among females, while 10% among males. The 27% reported long-COVID as associated with age-range 51-60 years. The main long-COVID symptoms were asthenia for the 34% of OP, breathless (31%) and memory/conentration problems (15%). Considering RTW, for the 47% of the OP the most frequent problem was represented by workers with health conditions of frailty with respect to COVID-19 risk. The 78% of the OP indicated specific limitations on the fitness to work of subjects undergoing HS at a RTW occasion. Discussion Our data confirm the relevance of the issues related to long-COVID symptoms in workers and RTW after COVID-19, in particular for workers with frailty conditions. The vast majority of OP indicated limitations for the fitness to work of these workers. The most frequent long-COVID symptom was asthenia. Conclusion After the end of the emergency phase of the pandemic, COVID-19 is still a relevant occupational issue in Italy, with an important impact in terms of both RTW and long-COVID.