Prevalence of and factors associated with long-term COVID-19 sick leave in working-age patients followed in general practices in Germany

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of and the factors associated with long-term sick leave in working-age patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in general practices in Germany. Methods: Patients aged 18-65 years who were diagnosed with COVID-19 in one of 1,255 general practices in Germany between March 2020 and February 2021 were included in this study. Long-term sick leave was defined as sick leave of at least four weeks. The association between these independent variables and long-term sick leave was studied using an adjusted logistic regression model. Results: This study included 30,950 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (51.7% women, mean [standard deviation] age 41.5 [13.0] years). The prevalence of long-term sick leave was 5.8%. Female sex, older age, and several conditions (i.e., noninfective enteritis and colitis, reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders, atopic dermatitis, mononeuropathies, reflux diseases, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension) were positively and significantly associated with long-term sick leave. Conclusion: Long-term sick leave was relatively rare in COVID-19 patients followed in general practices in Germany. These results should be confirmed or invalidated in other settings and countries.