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Long Term Effects of COVID

6-Month Effects of COVID-19    
    
    As of January 25, 2021, there are almost 100 million recorded cases of COVID-19 worldwide. Clearly, COVID-19 infection is a problem that many people have and will face. However, because the virus is relatively new with its first case reported on December 31, 2019, not much is known about the long term effects of COVID-19. Researchers know the symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing, fever, nausea, loss of taste, etc, but these symptoms tend to be transient and dissipate with recovery. Will COVID-19 still affect people after recovery? A study published in The Lancet earlier this month details and records the 6-month effects of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. Even months after recovery, many patients still suffer from various symptoms including fatigue, insomnia and more. Some other symptoms not detailed in the study but reported in an article in The New York Times Magazine include memory loss and difficulty putting a cogent sentence together.  

About the Study

    Researchers from the study enrolled a total of 1,733 hospitalized COVID-19 patients from Wuhan, China, who were discharged from the hospital between January 7 and May 29, 2020. A follow up study was conducted from June 6 to Sep 3, 2020, approximately 6 months after discharge. Here, the patients were given a questionnaire interview, physical examination, laboratory tests, and a 6-minute walking test. The median age of the participants was 57 years and 52% were men. The participants were categorized into 3 groups based on the severity scale of their hospital stay: scale 3 or no supplemental oxygen required, scale 4 or supplemental oxygen required, and scale 5-6 or ventilation/oxygenation required.

The Results

    At follow up, 76% percent of patients reported at least 1 symptom, with a higher percentage reported in women. As expected, the risk of presenting symptoms in scale 5-6 patients was higher than those in scale 3. The most common symptoms observed were fatigue, which occurred in 63% of participants, and sleep difficulties, which occurred in 26% of participants. Anxiety or depression was another common long term symptom that was reported in 23% of participants at follow up. The results found that anxiety or depression at follow-up was more common in women than in men. Scale 5-6 participants also experienced more problems in mobility, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression. Additionally, the walking distance for scale 5-6 participants was shorter compared to those in scale 3 although no significant difference was observed for scale 4.

    Lung function was another variable that was tested and measured in participants of this study. The percent of participants with lung diffusion impairment (trouble breathing) increased with scale levels: 23% of participants in scale 3, 29% of participants in scale 4, and 56% of participants in scale 5-6 had lung diffusion impairment. As age increased, risk of diffusion impairment and fatigue also increased by 27% and 17% for every 10-year increase.

Conclusion

    Even 6 months after COVID-19 infection, many of the study participants still suffered from coronavirus related symptoms with the most common being fatigue, sleep difficulty, and anxiety or depression. The risk for these symptoms were found to increase with COVID-19 severity during infection, age, and in the case of anxiety/depression, also increase with the female sex. While the effects of COVID-19 twenty years from now are still unknown, this research finds that already after 6 months, COVID-19 survivors still face symptoms and issues relating to initial infection. Even after surviving coronavirus infection, the battle is not yet over. These findings only underscore how much is unknown about the virus and consequences after infection. The only sure way of preventing these long term effects of COVID-19 is not to get infected in the first place. With this information in mind, be sure to wear your mask and stay safe!

Sources

1. Huang, Chaolin, et al. 6-Month Consequences of COVID-19 in Patients Discharged from Hospital: a Cohort Study. The Lancet, 8 Jan. 2021, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32656-8/fulltext. 

2. Velasquez-manoff, Moises. “What If You Never Get Better From Covid-19?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/magazine/covid-aftereffects.html?action=click&campaign_id=154&emc=edit_cb_20210125&instance_id=26394&module=RelatedLinks&nl=coronavirus-briefing&pgtype=Article®i_id=104079047&segment_id=50223&te=1&user_id=a1ffb30ce1c80314068039118d254073.

 

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