Excess of Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 After the First Wave of the Pandemic.

Introduction: To compare the time distribution of initial COVID-19 among patients with self-reported post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).

Methods: We compared the distribution of the date of the reported initial COVID-19 among patients with self-reported PASC and the COVID-19 cases in France between the first wave (January 1-May 11, 2020) and the later period (May 12, 2020-June 30, 2021) using the chi-squared test. COVID-19 cases in France were assessed using previous modeling of COVID-19 burden in France for the first time period, and positive RT-PCR testing for the second time period.

Results: The study included 567 individuals with PASC (median age 44, [IQR 37-50]; 83.4% women). A total of 293 (51.7%) patients reported an initial COVID-19 infection during the first period while 272 (48%) reported it during the later period (missing data, n = 2; 0.3%). Patients with PASC were 82% more likely to report initial COVID-19 during the first pandemic wave than afterward (OR 1.82, 95% CI [1.55-2.15]; p < 0.0001).

Conclusions: The incidence of self-reported PASC wave was significantly higher when initial COVID-19 happened during the first pandemic wave than afterward, suggesting the importance of non-viral factors in PASC development.