Every eighth corona-infected person suffers from at least one symptom of Lung Covid weeks or months after being infected. This is apparent from a new large-scale study from the Netherlands, published on Thursday in the journal The Lancet.
The researchers had asked more than 76,400 adults to complete an online questionnaire about 23 common long-term covid symptoms. Between March 2020 and August 2021, each participant completed the questionnaire 24 times. The data would show that 12.7 percent of corona patients – so about one in eight – suffer from long-term complaints, the researchers report.
During the study period, more than 4,200 or 5.5 percent of the participants indicated that they had been diagnosed with a corona infection. More than 21 percent of those infected had at least one new or severely worsened symptom three to five months after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, nearly nine percent of the uninfected participants also reported a similar increase.
Control group with uninfected
What is special about the study is the large uninfected control group, with the data that allowed the researchers to distinguish between true late effects of corona and general effects of the pandemic. Symptoms before and after infection were also recorded in those infected, allowing the researchers to determine exactly which symptoms are related to the coronavirus. Common long-term Covid symptoms include chest pain, difficulty breathing, muscle aches, loss of taste and smell, and general fatigue.
“By looking at symptoms in an uninfected control group and in humans both before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection, we were also able to take into account symptoms that may be due to other health aspects of the pandemic, such as stress restrictions and uncertainty,” says author Aranka Ballering of the University of Groningen.
Delta and Omicron not yet charged
However, the authors point out that the study did not include newer corona variants such as Delta or Omicron. Therefore, it also does not provide data on symptoms such as brain fog, which have only been considered a common sign of Lung Covid since the emergence of the newer variants.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
