Full Citation
Title: Long COVID, Cognitive Impairment, and the Stalled Decline in Disability Rates
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2022
ISBN:
ISSN:
DOI: 10.17016/2380-7172.3189
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID:
Abstract: Long COVID encompasses a suite of long-term symptoms that commonly include fatigue, shortness of breath, and so-called brain fog, along with many others. Individuals with long-term symptoms may be unable to work (or work full-time) as a result of their condition, and there is growing speculation that long COVID may be restraining labor supply. In this note, I use two survey datasets to document four facts about long COVID in the United States. First, long-term COVID symptoms are much more prevalent among women, adults under 65, Hispanics and Latinos, and non–college graduates than among other demographic groups. Second, COVID "long haulers" cite specific physical and cognitive impairments commonly associated with the condition in media and medical reporting. Third, the share of working-age adults reporting serious difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions has risen steadily since the start of the pandemic. Fourth, growing shares of women and of non–college graduates report simultaneously (i) being out of the labor force due to disability and (ii) experiencing these cognitive difficulties. Non-participation attributed to disability was declining steadily in the years leading up to the pandemic, but that downward trend has stalled. Long COVID is likely one reason why.
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Price, Brendan M.
Publisher: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Data Collections: IPUMS CPS
Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
Countries: