Increased Risk of Long COVID in People with HIV/AIDS

Strategic Insights -

Fresh data on the association between HIV infection and the risk of long COVID has been presented in a new report. Research from the University of Missouri and the National Institutes of Health has found that people with HIV may be at increased risk for long COVID after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study, which analyzed data from two large electronic health record databases, found a modestly increased risk of long COVID in people with HIV compared to those without the virus.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study, which analyzed data from 2 large electronic health record databases, found a small but significant increase in odds of developing long COVID among people with HIV compared to those without the virus.
  • The risk of long COVID was estimated using logistic regression analysis and was found to be 1.09 times higher in people with HIV compared to those without the virus.
  • The study used two cohort definitions: a computed phenotype definition or ICD-10 code-based definition, and found that the association between HIV and long COVID was significant only when using the computed phenotype definition.
  • The study included 1,369,896 patients from PCORnet and 3,312,355 patients from N3C, with 11,964 patients in PCORnet and 23,931 patients in N3C having HIV.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Statistics:

  • The study included a total of 5,682,251 patients, with 1,357,932 patients from PCORnet and 3,288,424 patients from N3C without HIV.
  • The odds ratio of long COVID among people with HIV was 1.09 (95% CI, 1.04-1.14) in PCORnet and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.13-1.23) in N3C using the computed phenotype definition of long COVID.
  • The odds ratio of long COVID among people with HIV was 1.01 (95% CI, 0.88-1.16) in PCORnet and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.97-1.18) in N3C using the ICD-10 definition of long COVID.

Sources:

  • "HIV Infection and Long COVID: A RECOVER Program, Electronic Health Record-Based Cohort Study." Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2025;81(3):427-438.
  • Dima Dandachi, Division of Infectious Diseases, Dept. of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.
  • Kellie L. Hawkins, Zoe Verzani, M. Daniel Brannock, Colby Lewis, Sajjad Abedian, Sohrab Jaferian, Shannon Wuller, Jennifer Truong, Margot Gage Witvliet, Gretchen Dymond, Hemalkumar B. Mehta, Payal B. Patel, Elaine Hill, Mark G. Weiner, and Tho.