People with mild illness still suffer from a long COVID-19

A recent study by investigators at the University of Arizona found that people with mild to moderate illness severity still experience a long COVID with persistent symptoms more than 30 days after testing positive.

The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS ONE.

“We have shown that about 67% of people with mild or moderate COVID have long COVID, in other words, they still show symptoms more than 30 days after they test positive,” said Melanie Bell, senior researcher of the study. “It’s a real wake-up call for anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated. If you contract COVID, the chances of you experiencing long-term symptoms are surprisingly high. “

For the study, the team of investigators analyzed participant data at 3-month intervals. The data used was collected from the Arizona CoVHORT study, which followed residents of the state who had COVID-19 or who did not have an infection through a May 2020 online survey.

The investigation was self-reported and included infection status, symptoms, and any positive tests.

Study results showed that 68.7% of participants who tested positive had at least 1 symptom that persisted after 30 days. After 60 days of follow-up, this number increased to 77%. The most frequently reported symptoms were fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog, stress, anxiety, and altered taste and smell.

Additionally, the study found that people who had suffered a lengthy COVID were more likely to be less educated, to have seasonal allergies, and to have pre-existing health issues.

“I study reproductive health, and data from the CoVHORT longitudinal study is already providing new information,” said Leslie V. Farland, assistant professor at Zuckerman College of Public Health. “We have unique partnerships with many local health departments to support this research study, and many of our students are working there, so that they gain real-world experience of public health research in action. Five of our doctoral students are working on theses based on data from the CoVHORT study. It is valuable in many ways.