Largest Study of Lingering COVID-19 Effects Suggests a Looming Problem

In the largest long-term study of COVID-19 patients yet to be published, researchers in China report in the Lancet worrying results of the disease’s lingering impact on people’s health. The scientists, led by Dr. Bin Cao from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, studied 1,276 people discharged between January to May 2020 from Jin Yin-Tan Hospital in Wuhan after being hospitalized for COVID-19. The patients all agreed to health visits at six and 12 months after their symptoms first appeared; at each of those points, the researchers compared the health status of the study participants with that of comparable people from the Wuhan area who did not experience COVID-19 infection. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Among those hospitalized for COVID-19, 68% reported at least one continued, COVID-19-related symptom six months after their first symptoms appeared. While this percentage decreased by the 12-month mark, it remained relatively high, at 49%. And overall, patients who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 self-reported being in poorer health and having lower quality of life—including mobility issues— compared to controls. The most common symptom patients reported 12 months later was fatigue or muscle weakness; other issues included sleep disturbances, changes in taste and smell, dizziness, headache and shortness of breath. Certain symptoms were actually worse at the 12-month mark than they were earlier on in the study: the proportio...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 embargoed study healthscienceclimate Source Type: news