1 in 20 people develop “long Covid” and older women are most at risk

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One-fifth of people infected with Covid-19 can suffer from symptoms for more than 8 weeks-so-called “long covid” -women aged 50-60 years can develop and become debilitated in the long term There is the highest risk. One study claims the aftereffects of the virus.

research We analyzed data from 4,182 users by Dr. Claire Steves and Professor Tim Specter of King’s College London. Covid Symptom Study App What Professor Specter is doing.

They found that older people, women, and people with many different symptoms in the first week of their illness were more likely to develop long covids. For this reason, they have developed a model that predicts who is at greatest risk for long Covids.

They also studied the experience of people living with long Covid and identified two major symptom groups.

One is predominantly respiratory symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath, malaise and headache, and the second is “apparently multisystem”, affecting many parts of the body, including the brain. They insisted. , Intestines and heart.

Patients with Longcovid reported heart symptoms such as palpitation and fast heartbeat, pin and needle and numbness, and problems with concentration (“brain fog”).

People with long Covid were twice as likely to report that they had relapsed after recovery (recurrence) compared to those with short viral symptoms (16% vs. 8.4%).

Overall, the team reported that most people in Covid-19 returned to normal within 11 days, but 1 in 7 (13.3%) showed symptoms that lasted at least 4 weeks and 1 in 20. (4.5%) remain ill for 8 weeks and 1 in 50 (2.3%) suffer for more than 12 weeks.

However, the researchers added, “These are conservative estimates and strict definitions are used that could underestimate the Long-COVID range.”

Extrapolating this to the general UK population, the team has approximately 1 in 7 (14.5%) symptomatological Covid-19 patients for at least 4 weeks and 1 in 20 (5.1%) 8 We estimated that 1 in 45 people would get sick each week. (2.2%) 12 weeks or more.

On average, long Covids affected about 10% of people aged 18-49 who were ill with the virus, rising to 22% of people aged 70 and over.

Weight also affected, with people with long Covids having a slightly higher mean BMI than those with short Covids.

Women were 50% more likely to suffer from longer Covids than men (14.5% compared to 9.5%), but only in the younger age group.

Researchers also found that people with asthma were more likely to develop long-term covids, but had no clear association with other underlying health conditions.

Dr. Steves said: “It is important to use the knowledge gained from the first wave of the pandemic to reduce the long-term effects of the second wave. This paves the way for early intervention trials to reduce the long-term effects. It should open. “

Professor Specter added: “Not only are we worried about excessive death, but if the pandemic is not immediately controlled, we also need to consider those affected by the long covid. While we wait for the vaccine, we all work together to change our lifestyle. It is important to stop the spread of the coronavirus through stricter self-isolation by symptoms and positive tests. “

The latest findings are as follows Research from the National Institute of Health Long Covid suggests that it may be the result of a variety of “variable multilineage” symptoms, including lung and heart organ damage, fatigue after viral infection, and persistent Covid-19 symptoms. ..

Sir Simon Stevens, CEO of the NHS, has announced that £ 10m will be secured for the UK NHS. Establish a specialized clinic It provides patients with access to physical, cognitive and psychological assessments.