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Nearly a third of people with COVID-19 experience persistent symptoms for up to nine months after their diagnosis, even if they initially had a mild case, a small new study suggests.
The study researchers, from the University of Washington, analyzed information from 177 people in the Seattle area with confirmed COVID-19 infections who were followed for three to nine months after their diagnosis. (Average follow-up time was six months). Most of the participants (150 people, or 85% of the study group) had a mild case of COVID-19 and were not hospitalized; 11 participants (6%) were asymptomatic; and 16 participants (9%) were hospitalized.
Overall, 32.7% of patients with mild cases and 31.3% of hospitalized patients reported having at least one persistent symptom that persisted for at least three months after diagnosis.
Related: ‘We just didn’t have answers’: COVID-19 ‘long-haul carriers’ still know why they’re sick
The most common persistent symptoms were fatigue, reported by 13.6% of the participants overall, and loss of smell or taste, also reported by 13.6% of the participants, the authors said. About 13% of the participants experienced other persistent symptoms, such as muscle aches, shortness of breath, cough, and mental confusion.
“Our research indicates that the health consequences of COVID-19 extend far beyond acute infection, even among those experiencing mild illness,” the authors wrote in their article, published Friday (February 19) in Magazine. JAMA network open.
The authors also asked the participants about their quality of life after infection, with 30% of the participants reporting a worse quality of life compared to before infection, including 8% who reported problems with daily tasks, like housework.
“What is clear is that you can do well at first, but then over time you develop symptoms that are quite crippling in terms of fatigue,” said study lead author Dr. Helen Chu, associate professor of medicine at the Division of Allergies and Infectious Diseases of the University. from the Washington School of Medicine, said in a statement.
The study is one of the longest follow-ups of people with COVID-19. However, the study was limited because it included a relatively small number of participants from a single setting. Still, with millions of cases worldwide, “even a small incidence of long-term weakness could have huge consequences for health and the economy,” the authors wrote.
Exactly why some people develop these persistent symptoms, sometimes called “long COVID“- it is not clear”. Is it some kind of immune activation, some kind of inflammation or the development of autoimmunityChu asked, adding in the statement that she and her colleagues will analyze blood samples from COVID-19 patients to study this question.
Originally posted on Live Science.
