Supporting data for "The Clinical Characteristics and Thyroid Hormone Levels of Neuro-Long COVID among Hong Kong Adults"

According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Long COVID is defined by unexplained persistent symptoms lasting for 4 weeks or more upon the onset of acute infection. Over 30% of COVID-19 survivors experience persistent neurological, neuropsychological or neuropsychiatric symptoms, i.e. Neuro-Long COVID, which is debilitating and causes immense healthcare burden. At present, there is no consensus on Neuro-Long COVID management simply because of a lack of pathophysiological knowledge.

The studies described in my MPhil thesis have five key aims: 1) to describe the epidemiology in Hong Kong adults; 2) to assess the predictors and protective factors; 3) to evaluate the association of Neuro-Long COVID with thyroid hormone level; 4) to examine the association of Neuro-Long COVID with clinical assessment results and 5) to propose a definition for this novel syndrome.

A two-part cross-sectional study was conducted (IRB reference number: UW 23-171). First, a population-based online survey was performed among Hong Kong residents from April 2023 to May 2024. Demographics and information on COVID-19 infection(s) were collected. Further in-person assessments were conducted on a subset of participants to evaluate their neurological functioning. Serum samples were then collected to assess thyroid hormone levels. The Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare group differences between demographic variables, as appropriate. Student’s t-test or one-way ANOVA was used to compare thyroid hormone levels between groups, as appropriate. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine predictors of Neuro-Long COVID.