Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Fit for WorkLong CovidReturn to work and rehabilitationOccupational HealthOHW+

Study links long Covid risk to social deprivation

by Nic Paton 26 May 2023
by Nic Paton 26 May 2023 A run-down high street in Llanelli, Wales. A study has linked deprivation to a higher risk of long Covid.
Image: Shutterstock
A run-down high street in Llanelli, Wales. A study has linked deprivation to a higher risk of long Covid.
Image: Shutterstock

The risk of contracting long Covid is strongly associated with social deprivation, with people living in the most deprived areas 46% more likely to end up with long-term symptoms, a study has suggested.

The research in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine analysed more than 200,000 working-age adults and is believed to be the first to quantify the association between long Covid and socio-economic status across a range of occupations.

Analysing data from the Office for National Statistics’ Covid-19 Infection Survey, the researchers also found that women had a higher risk of long Covid.

The risk of long Covid in women in the least deprived areas was comparable to that of males in the most deprived areas, the study argued.

Long Covid

Two-thirds with long Covid treated unfairly at work

Long Covid symptoms can include ‘non-trivial’ gastrointestinal issues

Long Covid symptoms can lead to higher disease risk

People living in the most deprived areas and working in the healthcare and education sectors had the highest risk of long Covid compared to the least deprived areas.

There was, however, no significant association between the risk of long Covid and the most and least deprived areas for people working in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Lead researcher Dr Nazrul Islam, of the Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford, and Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton, said: “Although certain occupational groups, especially frontline and essential workers, have been unequally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, studies on long Covid and occupation are sparse.

“Our findings are consistent with pre-pandemic research on other health conditions, suggesting that workers with lower socio-economic status have poorer health outcomes and higher premature mortality than those with higher socio-economic position but a similar occupation. However, the socio-economic inequality may vary considerably by occupation groups,” he added.

The researchers have argued their findings indicate the need for a diverse range of public health interventions after recovery from Covid-19, with interventions taking account of multiple intersecting social dimensions.

Future health policy recommendations, they say, should incorporate the multiple dimensions of inequality, such as sex, deprivation and occupation, when considering the treatment and management of long Covid.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Dr Islam added: “The inequalities shown in this study show that such an approach can provide more precise identification of risks and be relevant to other diseases and beyond the pandemic.

“These findings will help inform health policy in identifying the most vulnerable sub-groups of populations so that more focused efforts are given, and proportional allocation of resources are implemented, to facilitate the reduction of health inequalities,” she added.

Nic Paton

Nic Paton is consultant editor at Personnel Today. One of the country's foremost workplace health journalists, Nic has written for Personnel Today and Occupational Health & Wellbeing since 2001, and edited the magazine from 2018.

previous post
New occupational health technician qualification launched
next post
Examiner was worker, not self-employed, finds tribunal

You may also like

Working days lost to asthma up 150% since...

4 Apr 2025

Five years on: how has work changed since...

12 Mar 2025

Long Covid costing UK plc billions in lost...

10 Dec 2024

Long Covid: How, slowly, I found solutions that...

2 Dec 2024

Pain the most common symptom of long Covid...

20 Sep 2024

Long Covid cognitive and psychiatric problems can last...

31 Jul 2024

Study makes case for sick pay rethink to...

11 Jul 2024

People with long Covid being failed by return-to-work...

15 Apr 2024

Long Covid leaves ‘tell-tale’ traces of inflammation in...

12 Apr 2024

Covid vaccinations do protect against heart failure and...

15 Mar 2024

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today