text: Incidence and risk factors for persistent symptoms in adults previously hospitalized for COVID 19 The long term sequalae of COVID 19 remain poorly characterized We assessed persistent symptoms in previously hospitalized patients with COVID 19 and assessed potential risk factors Data were collected from patients discharged from 4 hospitals in Moscow Russia between 8 April and 10 July 2020 Participants were interviewed via telephone using an ISARIC Long term Follow up Study questionnaire 2 649 of 4755 56 discharged patients were successfully evaluated at median 218 IQR 200 236 days post discharge COVID 19 diagnosis was clinical in 1291 and molecular in 1358 Most cases were mild but 902 34 required supplemental oxygen and 68 2 6 needed ventilatory support Median age was 56 years IQR 46 66 and 1 353 51 1 were women Persistent symptoms were reported by 1247 47 1 participants with fatigue 21 2 shortness of breath 14 5 and forgetfulness 9 1 the most common symptoms and chronic fatigue 25 and respiratory 17 2 the most common symptom categories Female sex was associated with any persistent symptom category OR 1 83 95 CI 1 55 to 2 17 with association being strongest for dermatological 3 26 2 36 to 4 57 symptoms Asthma and chronic pulmonary disease were not associated with persistent symptoms overall but asthma was associated with neurological 1 95 1 25 to 2 98 and mood and behavioural changes 2 02 1 24 to 3 18 and chronic pulmonary disease was associated with chronic fatigue 1 68 1 21 to 2 32 Almost half of adults admitted to hospital due to COVID 19 reported persistent symptoms 6 to 8 months after discharge Fatigue and respiratory symptoms were most common and female sex was associated with persistent symptoms 