Datta et al. 2025 - Long COVID and Financial Hardship Across Socioeconomic Strata

Full Citation:: Datta BK, Fazlul I, Khan MM. Long COVID and financial hardship: A disaggregated analysis at income and education levels. Health Services Research. 2025;60(2):e14413. (Datta, Fazlul, and Khan 2025) DOI:: 10.1111/1475-6773.14413 PMID:: 39618261 Study Design:: Cross-sectional analysis of BRFSS 2022 Sample Size:: 271,076 adults Key Findings::

- Long COVID associated with 1-11 percentage point increase in food insecurity across income/education groups
- Employment loss/reduced hours mediated 6-20% of financial distress
- Effects present across all socioeconomic strata but stronger in lower-income groups

Conclusion:: Long COVID causes financial hardship including food insecurity across income levels, disproportionately affecting lower-income groups. Limitations:: Cross-sectional; BRFSS self-report; employment mediation estimated, not directly observed. Certainty:: 0.75

References

Datta, Biplab Kumar, Ishtiaque Fazlul, and M Mahmud Khan. 2025. “Long COVID and Financial Hardship: A Disaggregated Analysis at Income and Education Levels.” Health Services Research 60 (2): e14413. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.14413.