{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,15]],"date-time":"2025-10-15T18:17:21Z","timestamp":1760552241410,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742256000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100004319","name":"Pfizer","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["76181715"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["76181715"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100004319","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may lead to long-term sequelae. This study aimed to understand the acute and post-acute burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to identify high-risk groups for post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A retrospective observational study of the Bahraini population was conducted between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2023, utilizing the national administrative database. PCC cases were defined according to WHO guidelines. All COVID-19 cases were confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Of 13,067 COVID-19 cases, 12,022 of them experienced acute COVID-19, and 1,045 of them developed PCC. Individuals with PCC tended to be older women with risk factors and instances of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection. The incidence rates per 100,000 individuals during the Alpha pandemic surge (2020), Delta pandemic surge (2021), and Omicron pandemic surge (2022) were 2.2, 137.2, and 222.5 for acute COVID-19, and 0.27, 10.5, and 19.3, respectively, for PCC cases. The death rates per 100,000 individuals during the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron pandemic surges were 3, 112, and 76, respectively, for acute COVID-19 and 1, 10, and 8, respectively, for PCC. The death rate was highest among those aged 65 and older during the Delta pandemic surge.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These findings suggest the need for a timely national vaccination program prior to new COVID-19 surges to prevent complications related to SARS-CoV-2 infection, particularly in the older adult and in non-older adult individuals with risk factors.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1539453","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T06:58:20Z","timestamp":1742281100000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Burden of acute and long-term COVID-19: a nationwide study in Bahrain"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Mariam","family":"Murad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stephen L.","family":"Atkin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pearl","family":"Wasif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alwaleed Abdulaziz","family":"Behzad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aamal M. J. Abdulla","family":"Husain","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roisin","family":"Leahy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Florence Lefebvre","family":"d\u2019Hellencourt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jean","family":"Joury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohamed Abdel","family":"Aziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Srinivas Rao","family":"Valluri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hammam","family":"Haridy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Julia","family":"Spinardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Moe H.","family":"Kyaw","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Manaf","family":"Al-Qahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4391","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12134391","article-title":"Prevalence of self-reported anosmia and Ageusia in elderly patients who had been previously hospitalized by SARS-CoV-2: the LONG-COVID-EXP multicenter study","volume":"12","author":"Fern\u00e1ndez-de-Las-Pe\u00f1as","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Clin Med"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e28118","DOI":"10.1002\/jmv.28118","article-title":"Differences in incidence and fatality of COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant versus Delta variant in relation to vaccine coverage: a world-wide review","volume":"95","author":"Wang","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Med Virol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"525","DOI":"10.4103\/lungindia.lungindia_265_22","article-title":"Demographic comparison of the first, second and third waves of COVID-19 in a tertiary care hospital at Jaipur, India","volume":"39","author":"Singh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lung India"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3816","DOI":"10.1097\/MS9.0000000000001024","article-title":"Difference in presentation, outcomes, and hospital epidemiologic trend of COVID-19 among first, second, and third waves: a review of hospital records and prospective cohort study","volume":"85","author":"Mahmud","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann Med Surg (Lond)"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3218","DOI":"10.21037\/jtd-22-764","article-title":"Critical COVID-19 patients through first, second, and third wave: retrospective observational study comparing outcomes in intensive care unit","volume":"15","author":"Coloretti","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Thorac Dis"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100243","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lanepe.2021.100243","article-title":"Mortality comparison between the first and second\/third waves among 3,795 critical COVID-19 patients with pneumonia admitted to the ICU: a multicentre retrospective cohort study","volume":"11","author":"Carbonell","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Reg Health Eur"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2238804","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2022.38804","article-title":"Prevalence and correlates of long COVID symptoms among US adults","volume":"5","author":"Perlis","year":"2022","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109536","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isci.2024.109536","article-title":"Long COVID across SARS-CoV-2 variants, lineages, and sublineages","volume":"27","author":"Padilla","year":"2024","journal-title":"iScience"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1593","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiac136","article-title":"(COVID-19) condition or long COVID: a Meta-analysis and systematic review","volume":"226","author":"Chen","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Infect Dis"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"937179","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.937179","article-title":"The gender peak effect: women are most vulnerable to infections during COVID-19 peaks","volume":"10","author":"Wu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2481","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-023-28839-y","article-title":"Vaccination status and long COVID symptoms in patients discharged from hospital","volume":"13","author":"Nascimento","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e069676","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj-2021-069676","article-title":"Trajectory of long covid symptoms after covid-19 vaccination: community based cohort study","volume":"377","author":"Ayoubkhani","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102589","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhealeco.2022.102589","article-title":"Vaccination strategies and transmission of COVID-19: evidence across advanced countries","volume":"82","author":"Kim","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Health Econ"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2148","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-024-03173-6","article-title":"Long COVID science, research and policy","volume":"30","author":"Al-Aly","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nat Med"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1706","DOI":"10.1038\/s41591-022-01909-w","article-title":"Symptoms and risk factors for long COVID in non-hospitalized adults","volume":"28","author":"Subramanian","year":"2022","journal-title":"Nat Med"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e14357","DOI":"10.1111\/ijcp.14357","article-title":"Frequency, signs and symptoms, and criteria adopted for long COVID-19: a systematic review","volume":"75","author":"Cabrera Martimbianco","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Clin Pract"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1824","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines10111824","article-title":"Real-time monitoring of the effectiveness of six COVID-19 vaccines against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Hungary in 2021 using the screening method","volume":"10","author":"Horv\u00e1th","year":"2022","journal-title":"Vaccines (Basel)"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e2128568","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.28568","article-title":"Short-term and long-term rates of Postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review","volume":"4","author":"Groff","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1605614","DOI":"10.3389\/ijph.2023.1605614","article-title":"COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign: an international comparison of Qatar with GCC nations and other global groups","volume":"68","author":"Abdullahi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Public Health"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"905","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines9080905","article-title":"Disparities in COVID-19 vaccination among low-, middle-, and high-income countries: the mediating role of vaccination policy","volume":"9","author":"Duan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Vaccine"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1355973","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1355973","article-title":"Gender differences in symptomatology, socio-demographic information and quality of life in Spanish population with long COVID condition: a cross-sectional study","volume":"12","author":"Marcilla-Toribio","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.1080\/07853890.2022.2031274","article-title":"Emerging COVID-19 variants and their impact on SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, therapeutics and vaccines","volume":"54","author":"Fernandes","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ann Med"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1098443","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1098443","article-title":"Long COVID in the context of social determinants of health","volume":"11","author":"Lukkahatai","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1111\/1468-0009.12505","article-title":"Long COVID and health inequities: the role of primary care","volume":"99","author":"Berger","year":"2021","journal-title":"Milbank Q"},{"key":"ref25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1186\/s40246-021-00306-7","article-title":"Genetic variants are identified to increase risk of COVID-19 related mortality from UK biobank data","volume":"15","author":"Hu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Hum Genomics"},{"key":"ref26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1060","DOI":"10.3390\/v16071060","article-title":"Exploring the complexities of long COVID","volume":"16","author":"Donald","year":"2024","journal-title":"Viruses"},{"key":"ref27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"545","DOI":"10.1136\/oemed-2023-108930","article-title":"Occupational differences in the prevalence and severity of long-COVID: analysis of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection survey","volume":"80","author":"Kromydas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Occup Environ Med"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1539453\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T06:58:23Z","timestamp":1742281103000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1539453\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]]},"references-count":27,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1539453"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1539453","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2296-2565"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]]},"article-number":"1539453"}}