Variant-specific symptoms of COVID-19 in a study of 1,542,510 adults in England

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus is associated with a wide range of symptoms. The REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission − 1 (REACT-1) study monitored the spread and clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 among random samples of the population in England from 1 May 2020 to 31 March 2022. We sho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 6856 - 10
Main Authors: Whitaker, Matthew, Elliott, Joshua, Bodinier, Barbara, Barclay, Wendy, Ward, Helen, Cooke, Graham, Donnelly, Christl A., Chadeau-Hyam, Marc, Elliott, Paul
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.11.2022
Nature Publishing Group
Nature Portfolio
Subjects:
631/326/596/4130
692/499
692/699/255/2514
692/700/478/174
Adult
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
England - epidemiology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Infections
Influenza
multidisciplinary
Olfaction
SARS-CoV-2
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Smell
Taste
Vaccination
Viral diseases
England
United Kingdom > UK
ISSN:2041-1723, 2041-1723
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus is associated with a wide range of symptoms. The REal-time Assessment of Community Transmission − 1 (REACT-1) study monitored the spread and clinical manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 among random samples of the population in England from 1 May 2020 to 31 March 2022. We show changing symptom profiles associated with the different variants over that period, with lower reporting of loss of sense of smell or taste for Omicron compared to previous variants, and higher reporting of cold-like and influenza-like symptoms, controlling for vaccination status. Contrary to the perception that recent variants have become successively milder, Omicron BA.2 was associated with reporting more symptoms, with greater disruption to daily activities, than BA.1. With restrictions lifted and routine testing limited in many countries, monitoring the changing symptom profiles associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and effects on daily activities will become increasingly important. In this study, the authors assess changing symptom profiles associated with different SARS-CoV-2 variants from May 2020 to March 2022 in England. Using data from the REACT-1 study, they find that Omicron infection is more often associated with cold and influenza-like symptoms, and less with loss of taste and smell.
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ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-022-34244-2