Long-Term Health Effects of COVID-19
COVID-associated symptoms like fatigue and malaise, breathing difficulties, and cognitive problems, often referred to as post-COVID-19 condition or long COVID are known to be linked with a variety of long-term effects of COVID-19 as per a recent analysis in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
The study has identified several characteristics associated with a higher likelihood of receiving a post-COVID-19 condition diagnosis.
‘Specific COVID-associated symptoms like fatigue and malaise, breathing difficulties, and cognitive problems may be linked with a variety of long-term effects of COVID-19.’
In the study of 204,805 individuals who tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 in Stockholm, Sweden, from March 2020 through July 2021, the proportion receiving a post-COVID-19 condition diagnosis was 1% among individuals not hospitalized for their COVID-19 infection, 6% among those hospitalized, and 32% among those treated in intensive care units (ICUs).
Symptoms of Long COVID
The most common new-onset symptoms among individuals with a post-COVID-19 condition diagnosis were fatigue (29%) among non-hospitalized individuals, and breathing difficulties among both hospitalized (25%) and ICU-treated patients (41%).Female gender, previous mental health disorders, and asthma were associated with post-COVID-19 conditions among non-hospitalized and hospitalized individuals.
Among individuals with the post-COVID-19 condition, use of outpatient care was substantially elevated up to one year after the acute infection.
"Our understanding of health effects beyond the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is continuously improving. In this study, we observed a marked difference in the occurrence of post-COVID-19 condition diagnosis across different severities of the acute infection," said corresponding author Pontus Hedberg, MD, and postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet. "Furthermore, the elevated outpatient primary and specialist care use indicates poor recovery for individuals suffering from the post-COVID-19 condition, highlighting the urgent need to better understand this condition and its potential resolution over time."
Source: Eurekalert