Long COVID Among People With Preexisting Disabilities.

Abstract

<b>Objectives.</b> To document the prevalence of long COVID among a sample of survey respondents with long-term disabilities that existed before 2020 and to compare the prevalence among this group with that among the general population. <b>Methods.</b> We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive study using data from the 2022 National Survey on Health and Disability (n = 2262) and comparative data for the general population from the federal Household Pulse Survey (HPS). <b>Results.</b> The prevalence of long COVID was higher among people with preexisting disabilities than in the general population (40.6% vs 18.9%). <b>Conclusions.</b> People with preexisting disabilities experienced and continue to experience increased exposure to COVID-19 and barriers to accessing health care, COVID-19 vaccines, and COVID-19 tests. These barriers, combined with long-standing health disparities in this population, may have contributed to the greater prevalence of long COVID among people with disabilities. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> The needs of people with disabilities must be centered in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2024;114(11):1261-1264. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307794).