New study warns about effects of long COVID

The impact of long COVID is significantly affecting the lives of many infected individuals. It is devastating not only to the economy but also to the health systems. A new study covering 100,000 people showed that most COVID patients haven’t fully recovered.

In this Scottish study, there’s clear evidence that 1 in 20 people had not recovered in a span of six to eighteen months. Although it also showed that 42% of these COVID patients are partially recovering. On a positive note, the study also shows that patients with asymptomatic symptoms have a lower chance of developing the effects of long COVID. Vaccination also protects patients from suffering the long-term effects of the virus.

Director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, David Putrino, said, “It’s one more well-conducted, population-level study showing that we should be extremely concerned about the current numbers of acute infections. We’re in trouble.”

Another day, another huge study warning us not to be complacent about the looming risk of #LongCOVID.

Is anyone listening?https://t.co/zmUDBvszHr

— Putrino Lab (@PutrinoLab) October 12, 2022

A professor of public health at the University of Glasgow, Jill Pell, is the one who led the study. She emphasized that the research showed the extensive impact of long COVID. She said, “There are lots of different impacts going beyond health to quality of life, employment, schooling, and the ability to look after yourself.”

The world is in a better state now in battling coronavirus and its emerging variants. However, it’s also evident that many of those infected before are still undergoing “prolonged suffering.” This is according to WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

While there is still no prevalent way of treating long COVID, patients who suffer are experiencing a “frustrating” wait for guidance and support. According to Tedros, patients with long-tail COVID still carry dangerous effects on the health systems.

Long Covid Symptoms

This serves as a clear warning. The growing number of reported long COVID symptoms and the inability to diagnose it have alarmed researchers. According to estimates, 7 million and 23 million Americans are enduring the long COVID effects. These numbers are expected to increase as coronavirus evolves into an endemic disease.

A new #LongCovid nationwide study from Scotland w/ matched controls, 6-18 months follow up, showed 6% no recovery, 42% had only partial recovery, with "poorer quality of life and wide-ranging impairment of their daily activities which could not be explained by confounding" pic.twitter.com/Nn1R2GLNBX

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 12, 2022

In a recent study, long COVID symptoms varied from person to person. But it also proves that the most common symptoms are as follows:

• Palpitations
• Breathlessness
• Chest Pain
• Reduced mental alertness
• Brain fog

In addition, these symptoms are worst for those patients who were hospitalized due to COVID. Putrino added, “It has always been the case that sicker people are more likely to have long-term sequelae. “What is frightening is that the mild cases far outnumber the severe, so even a small percentage of mild cases going on to develop long-term sequelae is a massive public health concern.”

Moreover, the study suggests that long covid risk is higher among women, older people, and economically-declined countries. People with mental and physical health conditions are also prone to long COVID. 

US experts like the US president’s medical chief adviser, Anthony Fauci, often rely on British data during this pandemic. These data were deemed reliable as they came from the nationalized healthy system reflecting the cases from the worldwide population. 

Putrino also noted that there are more concerns that also need focus, such as the vaccination’s capacity to protect. On a positive note, studies show that vaccination lowers the risk of suffering from long COVID. Especially with new innovations in COVID booster vaccines, it will be easier to combat the persistent virus. Putrino said, “That is one of the most important things we need to understand next.”