The Omicron variant is less likely to cause long COVID than previous coronavirus variants, according to the first peer-reviewed study of its kind from the UK.

The odds of developing long COVID after infection were 20-50% lower in the UK during the Omicron wave compared with the earlier Delta wave, the study in The Lancet shows.

Researchers from King’s College London used data from the ZOE COVID Symptom Study app and found the figure varied depending on the patient’s age and the timing of their last vaccination.

The study was believed to be the first showing Omicron did not present as great a risk of long COVID, but the team said that did not mean long COVID patient numbers were dropping.