The Long COVID experience from a patient's perspective: a clustering analysis of 27,216 Reddit posts

ObjectiveThis work aims to study the profiles of Long COVID from the perspective of the patients spontaneously sharing their experiences and symptoms on Reddit.MethodsWe collected 27,216 posts shared between July 2020 and July 2022 on Long COVID-related Reddit forums. Natural language processing, clustering techniques and a Long COVID symptoms lexicon were used to extract the different symptoms and categories of symptoms and to study the co-occurrences and correlation between them.ResultsMore than 78% of the posts mentioned at least one Long COVID symptom. Fatigue (29.4%), pain (22%), clouded consciousness (19.1%), anxiety (17.7%) and headaches (15.6%) were the most prevalent symptoms. They also highly co-occurred with a variety of other symptoms (e.g., fever, sinonasal congestion). Different categories of symptoms were found: general (45.5%), neurological/ocular (42.9%), mental health/psychological/behavioral (35.2%), body pain/mobility (35.1%) and cardiorespiratory (31.2%). Posts focusing on other concerns of the community such as vaccine, recovery and relapse and, symptom triggers were detected.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the benefits of leveraging large volumes of data from Reddit to characterize the heterogeneity of Long COVID profiles. General symptoms, particularly fatigue, have been reported to be the most prevalent and frequently co-occurred with other symptoms. Other concerns, such as vaccination and relapse following recovery, were also addressed by the Long COVID community

Do personality traits affect productivity?:Evidence from the lab

While survey data supports a strong relationship between personality and labor market outcomes, the exact mechanisms behind this association remain unexplored. In this paper, we take advantage of a controlled laboratory set-up to explore whether this relationship operates through productivity. Using a real-e ort task, we analyse the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance. We nd that more neurotic subjects perform worse, and that more conscientious individuals perform better. These ndings are in line with previous survey studies and suggest that at least part of the e ect of personality on labor market outcomes operates through individual productivity. In addition, we nd evidence that gender and university major a ect the impact of the Big Five personality traits on performance

Long COVID Classification: Findings from a Clustering Analysis in the Predi-COVID Cohort Study.

peer reviewedThe increasing number of people living with Long COVID requires the development of more personalized care; currently, limited treatment options and rehabilitation programs adapted to the variety of Long COVID presentations are available. Our objective was to design an easy-to-use Long COVID classification to help stratify people with Long COVID. Individual characteristics and a detailed set of 62 self-reported persisting symptoms together with quality of life indexes 12 months after initial COVID-19 infection were collected in a cohort of SARS-CoV-2 infected people in Luxembourg. A hierarchical ascendant classification (HAC) was used to identify clusters of people. We identified three patterns of Long COVID symptoms with a gradient in disease severity. Cluster-Mild encompassed almost 50% of the study population and was composed of participants with less severe initial infection, fewer comorbidities, and fewer persisting symptoms (mean = 2.9). Cluster-Moderate was characterized by a mean of 11 persisting symptoms and poor sleep and respiratory quality of life. Compared to the other clusters, Cluster-Severe was characterized by a higher proportion of women and smokers with a higher number of Long COVID symptoms, in particular vascular, urinary, and skin symptoms. Our study evidenced that Long COVID can be stratified into three subcategories in terms of severity. If replicated in other populations, this simple classification will help clinicians improve the care of people with Long COVID

Long COVID Symptomatology After 12 Months and Its Impact on Quality of Life According to Initial Coronavirus Disease 2019 Disease Severity.

peer reviewed[en] BACKGROUND: "Long COVID" is characterized by a variety of symptoms and an important burden for affected people. Our objective was to describe long COVID symptomatology according to initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. METHODS: Predi-COVID cohort study participants, recruited at the time of acute COVID-19 infection, completed a detailed 12-month symptom and quality of life questionnaire. Frequencies and co-occurrences of symptoms were assessed. RESULTS: Among the 289 participants who fully completed the 12-month questionnaire, 59.5% reported at least 1 symptom, with a median of 6 symptoms. Participants with an initial moderate or severe acute illness declared more frequently 1 or more symptoms (82.6% vs 38.6%, P < .001) and had on average 6.8 more symptoms (95% confidence interval, 4.18-9.38) than initially asymptomatic participants who developed symptoms after the acute infection. Overall, 12.5% of the participants could not envisage coping with their symptoms in the long term. Frequently reported symptoms, such as neurological and cardiovascular symptoms, but also less frequent ones such as gastrointestinal symptoms, tended to cluster. CONCLUSIONS: Frequencies and burden of symptoms present 12 months after acute COVID-19 infection increased with the severity of the acute illness. Long COVID likely consists of multiple subcategories rather than a single entity. This work will contribute to the better understanding of long COVID and to the definition of precision health strategies. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT04380987

Urinary excretions of 34 dietary polyphenols and their associations with lifestyle factors in the EPIC cohort study.

Urinary excretion of 34 dietary polyphenols and their variations according to diet and other lifestyle factors were measured by tandem mass spectrometry in 475 adult participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cross-sectional study. A single 24-hour urine sample was analysed for each subject from 4 European countries. The highest median levels were observed for phenolic acids such as 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (157 μmol/24 h), followed by 3-hydroxyphenylacetic, ferulic, vanillic and homovanillic acids (20-50 μmol/24 h). The lowest concentrations were observed for equol, apigenin and resveratrol ( 0.5) observed between urinary polyphenols and the intake of their main food sources (e.g., resveratrol and gallic acid ethyl ester with red wine intake; caffeic, protocatechuic and ferulic acids with coffee consumption; and hesperetin and naringenin with citrus fruit intake). The large variations in urinary polyphenols observed are largely determined by food preferences. These polyphenol biomarkers should allow more accurate evaluation of the relationships between polyphenol exposure and the risk of chronic diseases in large epidemiological studies

Validation of a SARS-CoV-2 Surrogate Neutralization Test Detecting Neutralizing Antibodies against the Major Variants of Concern.

peer reviewedSARS-CoV-2 infection and/or vaccination elicit a broad range of neutralizing antibody responses against the different variants of concern (VOC). We established a new variant-adapted surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) and assessed the neutralization activity against the ancestral B.1 (WT) and VOC Delta, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and BA.5. Analytical performances were compared against the respective VOC to the reference virus neutralization test (VNT) and two CE-IVD labeled kits using three different cohorts collected during the COVID-19 waves. Correlation analyses showed moderate to strong correlation for Omicron sub-variants (Spearman's r = 0.7081 for BA.1, r = 0.7205 for BA.2, and r = 0.6042 for BA.5), and for WT (r = 0.8458) and Delta-sVNT (r = 0.8158), respectively. Comparison of the WT-sVNT performance with two CE-IVD kits, the "Icosagen SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody ELISA kit" and the "Genscript cPass, kit" revealed an overall good correlation ranging from 0.8673 to -0.8773 and a midway profile between both commercial kits with 87.76% sensitivity and 90.48% clinical specificity. The BA.2-sVNT performance was similar to the BA.2 Genscript test. Finally, a correlation analysis revealed a strong association (r = 0.8583) between BA.5-sVNT and VNT sVNT using a double-vaccinated cohort (n = 100) and an Omicron-breakthrough infection cohort (n = 91). In conclusion, the sVNT allows for the efficient prediction of immune protection against the various VOCs

Comparison of abdominal adiposity and overall obesity in relation to risk of small intestinal cancer in a European Prospective Cohort

Published version. Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10552-016-0772-z Background: The etiology of small intestinal cancer (SIC) is largely unknown, and there are very few epidemiological studies published to date. No studies have investigated abdominal adiposity in relation to SIC. Methods: We investigated overall obesity and abdominal adiposity in relation to SIC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a large prospective cohort of approximately half a million men and women from ten European countries. Overall obesity and abdominal obesity were assessed by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression modeling was performed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Stratified analyses were conducted by sex, BMI, and smoking status. Results: During an average of 13.9 years of follow-up, 131 incident cases of SIC (including 41 adenocarcinomas, 44 malignant carcinoid tumors, 15 sarcomas and 10 lymphomas, and 21 unknown histology) were identified. WC was positively associated with SIC in a crude model that also included BMI (HR per 5-cm increase = 1.20, 95 % CI 1.04, 1.39), but this association attenuated in the multivariable model (HR 1.18, 95 % CI 0.98, 1.42). However, the association between WC and SIC was strengthened when the analysis was restricted to adenocarcinoma of the small intestine (multivariable HR adjusted for BMI = 1.56, 95 % CI 1.11, 2.17). There were no other significant associations. Conclusion: WC, rather than BMI, may be positively associated with adenocarcinomas but not carcinoid tumors of the small intestine. Impact: Abdominal obesity is a potential risk factor for adenocarcinoma in the small intestine

Autoimmunity plays a role in the onset of diabetes after 40 years of age

Funder: Umea UniversityAbstract: Aims/hypothesis: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ with respect to pathophysiological factors such as beta cell function, insulin resistance and phenotypic appearance, but there may be overlap between the two forms of diabetes. However, there are relatively few prospective studies that have characterised the relationship between autoimmunity and incident diabetes. We investigated associations of antibodies against the 65 kDa isoform of GAD (GAD65) with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores and incident diabetes in adults in European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct, a case-cohort study nested in the EPIC cohort. Methods: GAD65 antibodies were analysed in EPIC participants (over 40 years of age and free of known diabetes at baseline) by radioligand binding assay in a random subcohort (n = 15,802) and in incident diabetes cases (n = 11,981). Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes genetic risk scores were calculated. Associations between GAD65 antibodies and incident diabetes were estimated using Prentice-weighted Cox regression. Results: GAD65 antibody positivity at baseline was associated with development of diabetes during a median follow-up time of 10.9 years (HR for GAD65 antibody positive vs negative 1.78; 95% CI 1.43, 2.20) after adjustment for sex, centre, physical activity, smoking status and education. The genetic risk score for type 1 diabetes but not type 2 diabetes was associated with GAD65 antibody positivity in both the subcohort (OR per SD genetic risk 1.24; 95% CI 1.03, 1.50) and incident cases (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.72, 2.26) after adjusting for age and sex. The risk of incident diabetes in those in the top tertile of the type 1 diabetes genetic risk score who were also GAD65 antibody positive was 3.23 (95% CI 2.10, 4.97) compared with all other individuals, suggesting that 1.8% of incident diabetes in adults was attributable to this combination of risk factors. Conclusions/interpretation: Our study indicates that incident diabetes in adults has an element of autoimmune aetiology. Thus, there might be a reason to re-evaluate the present subclassification of diabetes in adulthood

Dietary and lifestyle determinants of acrylamide and glycidamide hemoglobin adducts in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort

Purpose Acrylamide was classified as 'probably carcinogenic' to humans in 1994 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2002, public health concern increased when acrylamide was identified in starchy, plant-based foods, processed at high temperatures. The purpose of this study was to identify which food groups and lifestyle variables were determinants of hemoglobin adduct concentrations of acrylamide (HbAA) and glycidamide (HbGA) in 801 non-smoking postmenopausal women from eight countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods Biomarkers of internal exposure were measured in red blood cells (collected at baseline) by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) . In this cross-sectional analysis, four dependent variables were evaluated: HbAA, HbGA, sum of total adducts (HbAA + HbGA), and their ratio (HbGA/HbAA). Simple and multiple regression analyses were used to identify determinants of the four outcome variables. All dependent variables (except HbGA/HbAA) and all independent variables were log-transformed (log2) to improve normality. Median (25th-75th percentile) HbAA and HbGA adduct levels were 41.3 (32.8-53.1) pmol/g Hb and 34.2 (25.4-46.9) pmol/g Hb, respectively. Results The main food group determinants of HbAA, HbGA, and HbAA + HbGA were biscuits, crackers, and dry cakes. Alcohol intake and body mass index were identified as the principal determinants of HbGA/HbAA. The total percent variation in HbAA, HbGA, HbAA + HbGA, and HbGA/HbAA explained in this study was 30, 26, 29, and 13 %, respectively. Conclusions Dietary and lifestyle factors explain a moderate proportion of acrylamide adduct variation in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort