Association of Long COVID with housing insecurity in the United States, 2022-2023

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo assess the association of Long COVID with housing insecurity in the United States.MethodsTo compare the prevalence of 3 binary indicators of housing insecurity between people with Long COVID (symptoms > 3 months) and COVID-19 survivors who don’t report long-term symptoms, we used survey-weighted regression models on 203,807 responses from the Household Pulse Survey, a representative cross-sectional survey of US households collected September 2022 – April 2023. Among people with Long COVID, we assessed whether functional impairment, current COVID-19 related symptoms, and symptom impact on day-to- day life were associated with a higher prevalence of housing insecurity.ResultsDuring the study period, 54,446 (27.2%) respondents with COVID-19 experienced symptoms lasting 3 months or longer, representing an estimated 27 million US adults. People with Long COVID were nearly twice as likely to experience significant difficulty with household expenses (Prevalence ratio [PR] 1.85, 95% CI 1.74-1.96), be behind on housing payments (PR 1.76, 95% CI 1.57-1.99), and face likely eviction or foreclosure (PR 2.12, 95% CI 1.58-2.86). Functional limitation and current symptoms which impact day-to-day life were associated with higher prevalence of housing insecurity.ConclusionsCompared with COVID-19 survivors who don’t experience long-term symptoms, people with Long COVID are more likely to report indicators housing insecurity, particularly those with functional limitations and long-term COVID-19 related symptoms impacting day-to- day life. Policies are needed to support people living with chronic illnesses following SARS- CoV-2 infection.