COVID-19 has left an enduring mark on American life. Several months into the pandemic, it was clear that it was not going away any time soon. More than two years later, COVID is something we have to learn to live with, experts say. One thing millions of people are learning to live with: long-lasting symptoms. Estimates of how many people suffer from “long-term COVID” vary. A study found that it may be larger than previously thought. Read on to learn more, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss out on these Sure signs you’ve already had COVID.
A new study of early COVID patients found that in a group of people who had COVID-19, more than half of them reported prolonged COVID symptoms two years later.
In the research, published this month in Respiratory Medicine Lancet, scientists looked at more than 1,100 people in China who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic. They found that six months after infection, 68% reported prolonged COVID symptoms, and two years later, 55% did.
“This is incredibly concerning when we consider that prolonged COVID affects not only hospitalized patients, but also outpatients (which were not studied here),” said David F. Putrino, MD, associate professor of rehabilitation and performance human at Mount Sinai in New York, said Today’s medical news. “This study should serve as a reminder that death is not the only serious consequence of an acute COVID-19 infection.”
The most common prolonged COVID symptoms were muscle weakness or fatigue and sleep disturbance, which were reported by 31% of study participants. The study also found that people in the group with prolonged COVID symptoms were 62% more likely to experience mobility problems, more than four times more likely to have pain or discomfort, and more than seven times more likely to have anxiety or depression than people who haven’t had COVID.
Long COVID (also known as PASC, for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19) is the general term for a wide range of symptoms that can follow COVID-19 infection and last for weeks or months after infection has occurred. missing. They include breathing problems, fatigue, and neurological problems such as brain fog. They can range from inconvenient to debilitating in severity.
It is a major problem. In addition to the Chinese study, other large studies indicate that 20 to 30 percent of people infected with COVID-19 will develop prolonged COVID. The General Accounting Office estimates that between 8 million and 23 million Americans have developed prolonged COVID so far.
Although the Chinese study was linked to a particular group early in the pandemic, a study published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided new insight into the prolonged effect of COVID on the United States.
Based on CDC data through November 2021, one in five Americans ages 18 to 64 reported a subsequent health condition that can be attributed to COVID-19. Among adults over 65, the number was one in four. The researchers also found that people who have had COVID have twice the risk of developing a pulmonary embolism. [a blood clot in the lungs, which can be fatal] or respiratory conditions than people who have contracted the virus.
“As the cumulative number of people ever infected with SARS-CoV-2 increases, the number of survivors suffering from post-COVID conditions is likely to increase as well,” the researchers wrote. “Therefore, implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies, as well as routine screening for post-COVID-19 conditions among people who survive COVID-19, is critical to reducing the incidence and the impact of post-COVID-19 conditions, particularly among adults aged ≥65 years. .”
Follow the basics and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live: get vaccinated as soon as possible; if you live in an area with low vaccination fees, use an N95 face maskdo not travel, keep social distance, avoid large crowds, do not go indoors with people you are not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene and to protect your life and the lives of others, no no visit none of these 35 places where you are most likely to get COVID.
Miguel Martin
Michael Martin is a writer and editor based in New York City whose health and lifestyle content has also been published on Beachbody and Openfit. A contributing writer for Eat This, Not That!, he has also been published in New York, Architectural Digest, Interview and many others. read more
