Almost 25% of COVID-19 Patients Develop Long-Lasting Symptoms, According to a New Report

A year and a half into the pandemic, the condition known as Long COVID continues to stump doctors. A significant number of patients develop long-term symptoms after catching COVID-19, but it hasn’t been clear why that happens, who is likely to get sick or even how many people continue to suffer. A large new study may help form some answers to those questions. In line with prior estimates, it finds that almost a quarter of people infected with the virus develop at least one lingering health problem, and that most Long COVID symptoms are more commonly reported by women than men. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The report was released on June 15 by health care nonprofit FAIR Health and has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal. FAIR Health analyzed private health care claim records for nearly 2 million people diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020. The people in the study ranged in age from babies to the elderly; some 53% were female and 47% were male. Twenty-three percent of them reported one or more health issues at least 30 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The most common included pain, breathing trouble, high cholesterol, malaise and/or fatigue and high blood pressure. But the reported post-COVID symptoms were quite varied, running the gamut from depression and anxiety to skin conditions to heart issues and gastrointestinal distress. Patients with serious cases of COVID-19 were most likely to report a post-COVID condition, but the study shows tha...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news