PCC Shows Clear Link to Autoimmune Disease
About Post COVID Condition (PCC)
Post COVID Condition, often called Long Covid, refers to symptoms that begin during or after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and continue for at least two months. Symptoms cannot be explained by another diagnosis and may appear shortly after the initial infection or emerge later. PCC can affect multiple body systems, may fluctuate over time, and can range from mild to disabling. Source:
WHO
A new community-based study of 38,327 COVID-19 patients provides more substantial evidence that autoimmune diseases may shape vulnerability to PCC and may also emerge after infection.
Post COVID Condition, often called Long Covid, refers to symptoms that begin during or after a SARS-CoV-2 infection and continue for at least two months. Symptoms cannot be explained by another diagnosis and may appear shortly after the initial infection or emerge later. PCC can affect multiple body systems, may fluctuate over time, and can range from mild to disabling. Source: WHO
Of these individuals, 1,143 were diagnosed with PCC, and 37,184 did not develop PCC. For clarity, this summary refers to those without PCC as the non-PCC group, which corresponds to how the authors describe this population in the study (COVID-19 patients without a PCC diagnosis).
People who had psoriasis before infection were 41 percent more likely to develop PCC compared with the non-PCC group. Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis before COVID-19 were 64 percent more likely to develop PCC. Pre-existing autoimmune diseases overall were linked to a small increase in PCC risk.
The study also found that people with PCC were more likely to receive a new autoimmune diagnosis after their COVID-19 infection than those in the non-PCC group.
New diagnoses of Sjögren’s syndrome were four times more common in the PCC group than in the non-PCC group, and new rheumatoid arthritis diagnoses were about three times more common.
Additional factors associated with PCC included high BMI and chronic respiratory disease. Women accounted for 63 percent of all PCC cases. While symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, and changes in taste or smell were documented at low overall levels, they were consistently recorded more often in people with PCC.
Healthcare needs also differed. On average, individuals with PCC required about one additional medical encounter day per month compared with those who did not develop PCC, highlighting the ongoing care burden associated with this condition.
Citation
Sama, S. R., Gore, R., Bauer, A. Z., Garber, L., Rosiello, R., Fair, M., & Kriebel, D. (2025). Autoimmune diseases as pre-existing conditions and sequelae of post COVID-19 condition in a Massachusetts community based observational study of COVID-19 patients. PloS one, 20(12), e0337848. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0337848