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– Research on the long-term effects of covid-19 is becoming increasingly important, as many millions of people in the world have suffered from the disease, assistant director of health Espen Rostrup Nakstad tells Dagbladet.
A recent Chinese study, published in the acclaimed medical journal The Lancet, has examined just this.
The researchers examined COVID-19 patients who were so ill that they had to be hospitalized.
A total of 1,733 patients were followed up, who were discharged from the hospital between January 7 and May 29, 2020.
76 percent
The condition of the patients was examined and analyzed six months after infection with the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus.
The researchers found that 76 percent of the patients still had at least one symptom six months after the coronavirus infection.
More women than men experienced long-term symptoms.
The study will be the largest to date in terms of the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Previous studies have also not followed the study population for the same time period, the Chinese researchers write.
Fatigue and muscle weakness.
The Norwegian Health Directorate has taken note of the new study.
– This study shows that many COVID-19 patients still have health problems six months after falling ill, mainly in the form of symptoms of fatigue, muscle weakness, sleep problems, anxiety and depression, Nakstad says.
Sixty-three percent of COVID-19 patients experienced symptoms of muscle fatigue or weakness six months after becoming ill.
26 percent reported having difficulty sleeping and 23 percent reported anxiety or depression.
The researchers also found persistent lesions after six months among patients who had had a severe course of the disease.
Persistent lung problems
– Patients who have been more seriously ill also have more serious lung problems and persistent changes in the lungs. Therefore, rehabilitation will continue to be an important part of the follow-up of these patients, says Nakstad.
The researchers emphasize the importance of mapping the possible long-term effects of the pandemic, which so far has about 90 million infected worldwide.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Covid-19 has claimed nearly two million lives.
“The epidemiological and clinical characteristics, pathogenesis (how the disease occurs, journal. Note) and complications of patients with covid-19 in the acute phase are explicitly described, but the long-term consequences of the disease remain unclear “, the researchers write.
The researchers further emphasize that there is an urgent need for further studies looking at persistent symptoms, lung function, as well as physical and mental problems in patients discharged after coronavirus infection.
