Higher prevalence of long COVID observed in cancer survivors: Insights from a US nationwide survey

Abstract

Background

Cancer and cancer treatments can weaken the body's immune system, making cancer patients particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. While evidence suggests that cancer patients may be at increased risk for severe outcomes after COVID-19 infection, there is a lack of population-based studies comparing long COVID prevalence between cancer survivors and non-cancer individuals.

Methods

We utilized data from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), analyzing a sample of 120,658 U.S. adults who had tested positive for COVID-19. Long COVID was defined as the presence of COVID-19 symptoms lasting three months or longer. The weighted prevalence of long COVID was compared between cancer survivors and non-cancer individuals. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Multiple imputation was employed to address missing data on COVID-19 vaccination.

Results

Among 17,362 cancer survivors who tested positive for COVID-19, 4009 reported having long COVID (weighted prevalence = 24.0 %), compared to a weighted prevalence of 21.6 % in non-cancer individuals (p < 0.001). After controlling for covariates and accounting for the complex sampling design, the adjusted OR was 1.17 (95 % CI = 1.06–1.30, p = 0.002). In participants under 45 years old, cancer survivors had a notably higher prevalence of long COVID compared to non-cancer individuals (32.1 % vs. 21.3 %, p < 0.001), with an adjusted OR of 1.33 (95 % CI = 1.07–1.66, p = 0.012). In participants aged 45 and above, the prevalence difference was not significant (22.7 % vs. 21.9 %, p = 0.324), with an adjusted OR of 1.14 (95 % CI = 1.02–1.27, p = 0.024). Regarding the association of COVID-19 vaccination with long COVID, four or more doses were linked to a significant reduced odds of long COVID among cancer survivors (adjusted OR=0.55, 95 %CI = 0.34–0.88, p = 0.013).

Conclusions

Cancer survivors are observed to have higher odds of developing long COVID, particularly younger survivors. The association of COVID-19 vaccination with long COVID varies between cancer survivors and non-cancer individuals, with cancer survivors requiring more doses to achieve significant reduction in the odds of long COVID.