McGill to launch Quebec-wide study on long-COVID

McGill University's research institute is recruiting participants for a new province-wide study into post-COVID-19 syndrome, also known as long-COVID, which affects thousands of people in Quebec.

The goal of the study is to advance knowledge of the condition and to create a "functional profile" of long-COVID sufferers in order to help them manage it and determine those who would benefit from further assessments.

Quebec's Institut National d’Excellence en Santé et Services Sociaux (INESS) defines long-COVID as symptoms that develop during infection and persist for four weeks or longer.

Common long-COVID symptoms can include fatigue, memory problems, brain fog, headaches, muscle pain and shortness of breath, among others.

Since the pandemic, more than one million people in Quebec have tested positive for the coronavirus through PCR tests, with hundreds of thousands more who confirmed an infection from rapid testing.

It is estimated between 10 and 30 per cent of people who become infected will experience one or more symptoms associated with what researchers describe as post-COVID-19 syndrome.

"The implications of SARS-CoV2 variants on the incidence and severity of post-COVID-19 syndrome remain to be determined. Facing a new and poorly understood health condition, we argue that a person-centered understanding of the impact and evolution of this condition, including risk and resilience factors, is the first step," researchers say on their website for the Quebec Action pour la/for Post-Covid (QAPC) Research Project.

Quebecers 18 and older who self-identify as having one or more long-COVID symptoms for four or more weeks, with or without a test, are eligible to participate in the study.

Participants will be asked to complete virtual assessments, including questionnaires and cognitive tests, on their smartphones using two mobile apps: Step Catcher and Handheld Monitoring.

Quebecers can find more information about the study and sign up for it by emailing the research team at [e-mail] or by visiting their website.

In March, Quebec announced in its 2022 budget that it would invest more than $20 million to study long-COVID at five specialized clinics in Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and 10 other locations throughout the province.