{
  "abstract": "Objectives Occupational factors affect SARS-CoV-2 infection risk, but the occupational factors associated with Long COVID (LC) are unknown. We aimed to address this issue using individual data in a population-based cohort.Methods In the prospective COVICAT study, 2020–2023, Catalonia, Spain, we examined the association between occupational determinants and LC. Among subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, those employed in the pandemic and with occupational information were analysed. Different metrics, including four job-exposure matrices, were used to evaluate individual occupational risk factors for LC (postinfection symptoms ≥3 months). Poisson models were used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (RRs) and 95% CIs.Results Among 2054 workers (1308 women, 746 men) aged 40–69 years, 486 developed LC (23.7%). Workers in jobs at high COVID-19 risk according to all metrics including health/social care, education, retail, transport and security showed higher LC risk. The main drivers of increased risk were close contact with colleagues and the public (RR up to 1.50; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.91), no social distance at workplace (up to 1.46; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.84), rare or no use of facemask (1.41; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.83) and commute by public transport (1.58; 95% CI 1.20 to 2.08). Working on-site during the pandemic was also associated with a higher LC risk compared with teleworking (1.57; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.09). Individual non-occupational risk factors for LC included female sex, comorbidities, obesity, number and severity of acute infections; vaccination and older age were protective.Conclusions In a population-based cohort, several occupational factors increased LC risk. Focused preventive strategies are warranted to avoid the associated public health burden. LC should be recognised and compensated as an occupational disease.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Turin, Italy",
        "NHLI, Imperial College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Sara De Matteis"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Occupational Health Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Dario Consonni"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Ana Espinosa"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Genomes for Life-GCAT Lab CORE Program, Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Rafael de Cid"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Genomes for Life-GCAT Lab CORE Program, Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Natalia Blay Magriña"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Gemma Castaño-Vinyals"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Marianna Karachaliou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Miguel Angel Alba Hidalgo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Department of Epidemiology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria"
      ],
      "name": "Kyriaki Papantoniou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Judith Garcia"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain",
        "Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Manolis Kogevinas"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Kurt Straif"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Occupational determinants of Long COVID in the population-based COVICAT cohort",
  "uid": "e3c52c11-95df-5e2a-b1f7-fda8c00f6fb0"
}