Post-Acute COVID Among California Workers' Compensation Claims Filed in 2020-2022.

OBJECTIVES

To examine sociodemographic risk factors for post-acute COVID (PASC) among California workers' compensation (WC) claims in 2020-2022.

METHODS

We matched WC claims to SARS-CoV-2 test data, augmented with external sociodemographic data, and estimated odds ratios (OR) using logistic regression models.

RESULTS

PASC accounted for 7% of the 206,375 COVID and PASC cases. PASC cases were more commonly 30-49 years old, female, longer tenured, and in healthcare and protective service occupations compared to acute COVID. The highest PASC OR were among workers 50-69 years old, and workers of color, including non-Latino American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Island, and multiple races, and healthcare practitioners.

CONCLUSIONS

During the first three years of the COVID pandemic, PASC was common among workers with WC claims in CA and unevenly distributed, with observed disparities by age, race, and occupation.