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In addition to dealing with whatever COVID-19 has put in our way, medical experts are working hard to get a better idea of what is causing COVID along – a condition where symptoms persist for months after a COVID-19 infection. .
A new study has identified 203 different long COVID symptoms in 10 different organ systems in the body, highlighting how widespread and varied the affliction is and how it can interfere with many different aspects of daily life.
Researchers behind the study – all of whom have experienced or continue to experience lengthy COVID themselves – are calling for national testing programs to detect more cases of lengthy COVID, along with more specific clinical guidelines to describe disease.
“Although there has been a lot of public discussion about the long term COVID, there are few systematic studies of this population,” says neuroscientist Athena Akrami of University College London. “As a result, relatively little is known about the range of its symptoms and their progression over time, the severity and expected clinical course (longevity), its impact on daily functioning and the expected return to health of the patient. based.”
“In this unique approach, we have reached out directly to ‘long-haul’ people around the world to establish an evidence base for medical investigations, improved care, and advocacy for the long-haul COVID population.”
With a total of 3,762 people surveyed in 56 countries, the international study is the largest and most comprehensive review to date of how ‘long haul’ people continue to have problems well beyond. the normal timescale of COVID-19.
The most frequently reported symptoms were fatigue, post-exercise discomfort (symptoms worsen after physical or mental exertion) and cognitive dysfunction or “brain fog”. Other symptoms included visual hallucinations, tremors, sexual dysfunction, memory loss, and diarrhea – a whole range of physical and cognitive health issues.
On average, participants reported 55.9 symptoms each, in 9.1 organ systems. Of the 3,762 respondents with long-term COVID, 2,454 had exhibited symptoms for at least six months. It is all expensive: 45.2% of participants said they reduced their working hours, while 22.3% were not working at all at the time of the survey.
“At seven months, many patients have not yet recovered (mainly systemic and neurological / cognitive symptoms), have not returned to previous working levels, and continue to experience a significant symptom burden,” the researchers write in their report. article published.
There is a lot we still don’t know about the long COVID, although the picture is slowly becoming clearer. Symptoms seem to subside after vaccination, but only for some patients, while research has also shown that women are at greater risk of COVID for a long time.
It is believed that about 1 in 10 people who contract COVID-19 still suffer from certain symptoms more than 12 weeks after a positive test result. Given the spread of the pandemic around the world, we are potentially talking about millions of people.
Researchers want to see tests covering neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms, as well as current cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms, to catch more people who continue to struggle with COVID-19.
“It is likely that tens of thousands of long-term COVID patients suffer in silence, unsure whether their symptoms are related to COVID-19,” Akrami explains.
The research was published in Clinical Medicine.
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