Economic Burden of Long COVID: Lost Labor Costs in US Adults.

INTRODUCTION

Long COVID (LC) is associated with significantly more days of work missed due to illness. Given this impact on the workforce, we estimated the lost labor costs associated with these additional missed workdays among individuals with LC in the US in 2022.

METHODS

104,889,622 (weighted) adult full-time workers in the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were categorized as: never had COVID-19, had COVID-19 without LC, and had LC. The estimated cost of lost labor from days of work missed due to illness/injury in 2022 was calculated as: (hours worked per week ÷ 5) × (hourly wage) × (days of work missed). Differences in mean costs were assessed using one-way ANOVA. The population-level lost labor cost associated with LC was estimated as (mean lost labor cost for LC - mean lost labor cost for never had COVID-19) × (number of full-time workers ≥18 years in the US in 2022 × prevalence of LC in the study population).

RESULTS

The total estimated lost labor cost from days of work missed due to illness/injury for individuals with LC was $15,863,994,281 (SE, $1,748,160,632). The mean lost labor cost for individuals with LC was more than twice that of individuals who never had COVID-19 and significantly higher than those who had COVID-19 without LC. The population-level lost labor cost associated with LC was estimated to be $12,784,168,675.20 (SE, $1,946,074,821.60).

DISCUSSION: These findings highlight the substantial economic impact of LC, totaling more than $12 billion in lost labor costs in 2022, emphasizing the need for targeted prevention and treatment strategies.