{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]],"date-time":"2025-12-02T22:41:31Z","timestamp":1764715291437,"version":"3.41.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]],"date-time":"2025-06-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749168000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Long-COVID, defined as COVID-19 symptoms persisting for more than 3 months, may lead to persistent health issues requiring extensive medical care. Despite its long-term health impact, the economic impact of long-COVID remains understudied. This study examined whether individuals with long-COVID had more missed workdays compared to those without long-COVID. Adults (\u226518 years old) with full-time jobs were identified from the 2022 Full-Year Population Characteristics file of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). A weighted two-part model was used to identify factors associated with missed workdays due to illness. The total population analyzed included 131,685,516 adults (unweighted n\u2009=\u20098,210), with an average (SD) age of 43 (14) years. Among them, 46% were female and 62% were non-Hispanic White. Approximately 7% of the population experienced long-COVID. Individuals with long-COVID reported an average of 8 days missed from work (SD: 12 days), while those without long-COVID reported an average of 4 days missed (SD: 9 days). The two-part model revealed that individuals with long-COVID had 2.54 more missed workdays compared to those without long-COVID (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.01), after controlling for relevant\u00a0variables. These results underscore significant productivity losses associated with long-COVID, highlighting the need for policymakers and employers to implement effective strategies to address this condition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0325280","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]],"date-time":"2025-06-06T17:38:55Z","timestamp":1749231535000},"page":"e0325280","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Long-COVID is associated with increased absenteeism from work"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8147-1159","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jaewhan","family":"Kim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sanghoon","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Weir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0325280.ref001","author":"Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health"},{"key":"pone.0325280.ref002","first-page":"186","volume-title":"A Long COVID Definition: A Chronic, Systemic Disease State with Profound Consequences","author":"National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine","year":"2024"},{"key":"pone.0325280.ref003","author":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0325280.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-022-00846-2","article-title":"Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations","volume":"21","author":"HE Davis","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat Rev Microbiol"},{"issue":"22","key":"pone.0325280.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1934","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2023.8823","article-title":"Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection","volume":"329","author":"T Thaweethai","year":"2023","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"issue":"6","key":"pone.0325280.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm7306a4","article-title":"Notes from the Field: Long COVID Prevalence Among Adults - United States, 2022","volume":"73","author":"ND Ford","year":"2024","journal-title":"MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep"},{"key":"pone.0325280.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.15620\/cdc:132417","article-title":"Long COVID in adults: United States, 2022","author":"DVA Adjaye-Gbewonyo","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0325280.ref008","article-title":"Household Pulse Survey, 2022\u20132024. 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