Long COVID can last a year, even after mild cases of COVID

For some COVID-19 patients, the first illness is not as bad as the first. Persistent and sometimes disabling symptoms It continues for months or years after that.these are the people who have long covid, complex chronic illness Anyone can be affected regardless of age, gender, vaccination status, or medical history.

A study of nearly 2 million patients in Israel provides new insights into the long-term trajectory of COVID-19, especially for young, healthy people who had mild cases of COVID-19. Researchers found that although most long-lasting symptoms subsided within a year, some of the most debilitating consequences of the syndrome — dizziness, loss of taste and smell, and problems with concentration and memory — were associated with the initial infection. A year later, we found that it still bothered a small number of patients.

for the studyPublished Wednesday in the medical journal BMJ, researchers examined the health records of more than 1.9 million members of Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel’s largest health maintenance organizations. Among them were those who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between 1 March 2020 and 1 October 2021 and were not hospitalized within the first month after infection. It includes just under 10,000 people, and their cases have been shown to be mild. .

The researchers matched each coronavirus-positive subject with an uninfected person in the sample who had the same age, gender, vaccination status, and a similar history of risk factors, such as pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and obesity. I checked with Investigators then tracked the medical records of both members of each pair to ascertain any health problems she experienced during the subsequent 12 months.

“When we started this study, there were many uncertainties about the long-term effects of the pandemic,” said Maytal Bivas-Benita, a computational scientist who conducted the study with colleagues at the KI Institute in Israel.

Most COVID-related symptoms, including dyspnea, chest pain, cough, joint pain, and hair loss, declined sharply in the first few months after infection.

The older patients were at the time of infection, the more likely they were to report COVID problems over time. And many long-term COVID patients are still dealing with symptoms a year after being sick.

For example, six months after a mild bout of COVID-19, unvaccinated people were 5.5 times more likely to report smell and taste problems than uninfected people. Even as of March, former COVID-19 patients were more than twice as likely to have problems with these sensations.

Similarly, former COVID-19 patients are at increased risk of shortness of breath, weakness, and memory and concentration problems one year after initial infection.

Other long-standing COVID symptoms tended to resolve more quickly, the study authors found. Within 4 months, once infected people were less likely to suffer from cough than uninfected people. It was likely to occur, as was hair loss after 7 months.

The authors concluded that mild COVID-19 cases do not lead to serious or chronic long-term illness for the majority of patients, adding a “small ongoing burden” to the healthcare system as a whole.

Advocates for long-term COVID patients say the big picture masks the ongoing struggles of patients who are disabled by lingering symptoms.

“Arrhythmias, memory and concentration problems, all of these conditions are not only medically problematic, but also interfere with work and daily life.” Melissa Pinto, an associate professor of nursing at UC Irvine who has long researched COVID. “Not all symptoms are equally problematic.”

Israeli researchers have noted that many long-lasting COVID symptoms worsen during the first six months of the illness before some decline begins. This is an observation that tracks the experience of many long-distance patients.

“There are some concerning findings, such as the failure of some key neurological and cognitive symptoms to diminish over time,” such as memory and concentration deficits, said Hannah Davis. increase. Patient-led collaborative researcha state-focused research group.

She added that the new study is consistent with previous studies showing that neurological symptoms worsen in the first four months of illness. “It is essential to: one, to give long-term patients with COVID-19 an understanding of what to expect, and two, to give future researchers clues about possible mechanisms.”

Researchers identified which symptoms affected patients based on diagnostic codes.That approach ruled out recently defined diseases such as Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndromeor POTS received code in the US only in October 2022.

POTS is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system that affects blood circulation.It can be caused by an infection and anywhere in between 2% to 14% COVID-19 survivor Then I was diagnosed with POTS. Symptoms of this condition include many of the persistent symptoms reported in the Israeli study. Palpitations, dizziness, weakness, concentration problems.

“It is great that they are trying to collect this kind of data. [whether] The results really capture the lived experience of these patients. Lauren Stilesexecutive committee member Long COVID Alliance and president international dysautonomiaan advocacy group for patients with autonomic nervous system disorders.

“What we’re seeing in the long-term COVID patient community is that a good portion of people see some improvement in the first year.” I have a chronic illness and have been sick relentlessly for three years now.”