survivors would be 60% more likely to die in the next 6 months

Beating the coronavirus is reason for joy and even celebration. This damn virus has scared and dominated us for over a year and of course when someone manages to defeat it we celebrate it as a goal in the World Cup final. But perhaps, continuing with the football analogy, the game is not over yet.

It’s because, according to a huge new study, believed to be the largest to date, it shows some really disappointing data. Because it seems those who manage to survive Covid-19 would have 60% more likely to die within 6 months complications derived from the passage of the virus through the body.

It is already known, almost with certainty, that many survivors, even those who had mild cases, continue to suffer from various health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved.

The new study, the results of which were published this week in the journal Nature, ensures that survivors of Covid-19, which includes everyone, hospitalized and even asymptomatic, have an increased risk of death within six months of being diagnosed with the virus.

In the survey, conducted by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, US scientists have cataloged the many illnesses associated with the passage of the coronavirus, providing insight into long-term complications and revealing the huge burden that this disease this will likely mean for the world’s population in the next few years.

The study is huge, in fact it is believed to be the largest ever: involved more than 87,000 patients with Covid-19 and nearly 5 million control patients from a federal database.

“Our study shows that up to six months after diagnosis, the risk of death even after a mild case is not trivial and increases with the severity of the disease, ”said lead author Dr Ziyad Al-Aly.

“This is not an exaggeration say the long-term health consequences, America’s Next Great Health Crisis. Since more than 30 million Americans have been infected with this virus and the prolonged burden of Covid-19 is considerable, the lingering effects of this disease will reverberate for many years, if not decades, ”he said. he adds.

“Doctors need to be vigilant when assessing people who have had Covid-19. These patients will need integrated and multidisciplinary care“.

Long term side effects

In the new work, the researchers were able to calculate the potential magnitude of the problems initially seen from medical reports and smaller studies that hinted at the far-reaching side effects of coronavirus survival. from breathing problems and irregular heart rhythms to mental health. problems and hair loss.

“This study differs from others that have looked at Covid-19 for a long time because, instead of focusing only on neurological or cardiovascular complications, for example, we take a broad view and we use the extensive databases of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to catalog any diseases that can be attributed to it, ”said Al-Aly, also director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and head of the research and development department. St. Louis Veterans Affairs Health Care System Education.

The researchers showed that after surviving the initial infection, the survivors had a almost 60% higher risk of death in the next six months relative to the general population.

After six months, the excess mortality among all survivors was estimated at eight people per 1,000 patients. Among patients ill enough to be hospitalized and who have survived beyond the first 30 days of illness, there were 29 deaths per 1,000 patients over the next six months.

“These latest deaths due to long-term complications of the infection not necessarily recorded as a Covid-19 deathAl-Aly added, and continued: “Looking at the total number of deaths from the pandemic, these numbers suggest that the deaths we count are due to immediate viral infection. they are just the tip of the iceberg“.

To help understand the more serious long-term effects, the researchers performed a separate analysis of 13,654 hospitalized patients with Covid-19 versus 13,997 hospitalized patients with seasonal flu. All patients survived at least 30 days later hospitalization and analysis included six months of follow-up data.

Thus, they were able to confirm that, although initially a respiratory virus, the prolonged Covid-19 can affect almost all organ systems in the body.

Researchers identified major newly diagnosed health issues that persisted in Covid-19 patients for at least six months and which affected almost all organs and regulatory systems in the body, which includes:

• Respiratory system: persistent cough, shortness of breath, and low oxygen in the blood.
• The nervous system: stroke, headaches, memory problems and problems with the senses of taste and smell.
• Mental Health: anxiety, depression, sleep problems and drug addiction.
• Metabolism: new onset of diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.
• Cardiovascular system: acute coronary artery disease, heart failure, palpitations and irregular heartbeats.
• Digestive system: constipation, diarrhea and acid reflux.
• Kidney: acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease which in severe cases may require dialysis.
• Regulation of coagulation: blood clots in the legs and lungs.
• Skin: rash and hair loss.
• Musculoskeletal system: joint pain and muscle weakness.
• General health: malaise, fatigue and anemia.

While no survivor suffered from all of these problems, many developed a set of various problems that have a significant impact on health and quality of life.

“Compared to the flu, Covid-19 has shown a significantly higher disease burdenboth in the magnitude of the risk and in the extent of organ system involvement, “Al-Aly said.”‘Long Covid-19’ it’s more than a typical post-viral syndrome. The magnitude of the risk of illness and death and the degree of organ system involvement is much greater than what we see with other respiratory viruses, such as influenza. “

Additionally, researchers found that the health risks of surviving Covid-19 increased with severity of diseaseand hospitalized patients requiring intensive care had the highest risk of prolonged complications and death.

“Some of these problems may improve over time, for example shortness of breath and cough may improve, and some problems may worsen“Al-Aly added.” We will continue to follow these patients to help us understand the continued impacts of the virus beyond the first six months after infection. We are just over a year away from this pandemic, so there may be consequences that are not yet visible. “

Source: ScienceDaily