Investigating the prevalence of long COVID in Scotland

Key points

• this publication brings together new and previously published estimates of self-reported long COVID prevalence in Scotland. It aims to improve our understanding of how many people are living with long COVID and provide insights into the characteristics of the population most susceptible.

• the latest estimates of long COVID prevalence (published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from the Winter COVID-19 Infection Study) found 168,000 people (3.2% of people living in private households) in Scotland had self-reported long COVID in March 2024
• new analysis to explore in depth the characteristics of those with long COVID, based on the earlier ONS COVID-19 Infection Survey, tells us that in March 2023, prevalence was higher:
  • in those aged 50 to 69
  • in those living in the most deprived areas
  • in those whose daily activity is limited by pre-existing health conditions
• of those in Scotland with self-reported long COVID, around two thirds first had (or suspected they had) COVID-19 at least one year previously, and one third at least two years previously
• those who were hospitalised at the time of their first (suspected) COVID-19 infection were more likely to report their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities had been limited due to their long COVID symptoms
• of those with long COVID, the most common symptoms reported were: weakness or tiredness (78.1%), difficulty concentrating (57.8%) and muscle ache (54.4%)
• going forward, the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) will be used to monitor long COVID prevalence in Scotland. Breakdowns are published in relation to demographics and other data routinely collected by SHeS. A summary of the latest data is available in the SHeS section.