Long COVID research led by ARC East Midlands Director celebrated ahead of global awareness day

To mark the international awareness day, the National Long COVID Research Working Group reflects on its research, which has made significant contributions to how the disease is managed in the UK. 

Set up in response to the pandemic, the group formed in March 2021 to study the impact of long COVID across the UK.

Chaired by the ARC East Midlands Director, Professor Kamlesh Khunti, the group shares its findings with top health advisers to the UK Government.

Professor Khunti said: “When the working group was launched, a rich body of knowledge had already been collated on acute COVID-19 but much less was known about the risks, clinical presentation, duration and management of symptoms associated with long COVID.

“We’re proud to be co-ordinating this working group, which is composed of leading long COVID researchers from multiple UK institutions and has made a significant contribution to understanding and tracking the impact of long COVID in the UK.”

As the world marks the fifth anniversary of the pandemic, the group has shared details of its work ahead of International Long Covid Awareness Day on Saturday, March 15.

Its most recent initiatives that are currently in progress, include:

• Working on a ‘sleeping protocol’ based on what has been learnt from the previous pandemic that can be applied should a future pandemic arise
• A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies into the risk of long COVID symptoms in the general population
• A series of papers focusing on three long covid research themes: (1) epidemiology (2) mechanisms (3) interventions. 

Other key figures from ARC East Midlands involved in the working group include Research Fellow Dr Ash Routen and Research Associate Dr Lauren O’Mahoney.

Professor Rachael Evans and Professor Chris Brightling, who are both from the University of Leicester, are also in the National Long COVID Research Working Group. 

Dr O’Mahoney added: “The working group has allowed researchers from across the country to not only learn from one another but also link health outcomes across studies.”

“This is particularly important as it enables meaningful quantitative and qualitative synthesis in long COVID research, which in turn will result in more effective treatments and subsequently improved health outcomes in people living with long COVID.”

The key outputs from the National Long COVID Research Working Group include: 

• The prevalence and long-term health effects of long COVID among hospitalised and non-hospitalised populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• Understanding and tracking the impact of long COVID in the United Kingdom
• Patient and public involvement within epidemiological studies of long COVID in the UK
• Long covid: risk factors, outcomes, and future directions for research 

People with long COVID can get support here – https://www.longcovid.org/support/support-groups.