Increased Risk of Long COVID Linked to Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases

Studies have shown links between COVID-19 deaths and autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs), but we know little about the association between long COVID and AIRDs.

Researchers from the University of Washington analyzed data from the National Clinical Cohort Collaborative to see if there was a link between the two conditions. In their new study using data from 187,106 patients, they found that long COVID occurred in 2.8% of patients with AIRD versus 1.5% of patients without AIRD. Looking into more detail, the researchers found that an increased risk of long COVID was associated with higher acute COVID-19 severity, pulmonary diseases, obesity, and exposure to two drugs used to treat AIRD (glucocorticoids and rituximab). When the researchers looked at specific diseases within AIRD, they found that patients with Sjögren disease had a higher risk.

While these studies do not show causation (ex: they don’t show that a certain aspect of AIRD causes long COVID), they do point to how this information can potentially be used to monitor and prevent long COVID in people with AIRD.

Reference

Singh N, Anzalone AJ, Stevenson H, et al. Higher risk of Long COVID among patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases and immunomodulatory therapy: a retrospective cohort analysis of national US data. Arthritis Rheumatol. Published online October 14, 2026. doi:10.1002/art.70361