How many people get 'long COVID'? More than half, researchers find
Half of COVID survivors experience lingering symptoms six months after recovery

Date:
October 13, 2021
Source:
Penn State
Summary:
More than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed
with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience
post-COVID symptoms -- more commonly known as 'long COVID' --
up to six months after recovering, according to researchers. The
research team said that governments, health care organizations and
public health professionals should prepare for the large number of
COVID-19 survivors who will need care for a variety of psychological
and physical symptoms.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
More than half of the 236 million people who have been diagnosed
with COVID-19 worldwide since December 2019 will experience post-COVID
symptoms -- more commonly known as "long COVID" -- up to six months after recovering, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The research team said that governments, health care organizations and
public health professionals should prepare for the large number of
COVID-19 survivors who will need care for a variety of psychological
and physical symptoms.


========================================================================== During their illnesses, many patients with COVID-19 experience symptoms,
such as tiredness, difficulty breathing, chest pain, sore joints and
loss of taste or smell.

Until recently, few studies have evaluated patients' health after
recovering from the coronavirus. To better understand the short-
and long-term health effects of the virus, the researchers examined
worldwide studies involving unvaccinated patients who recovered from
COVID-19. According to the findings, adults, as well as children, can experience several adverse health issues for six months or longer after recovering from COVID-19.

The researchers conducted a systematic review of 57 reports that included
data from 250,351 unvaccinated adults and children who were diagnosed
with COVID-19 from December 2019 through March 2021. Among those studied,
79% were hospitalized, and most patients (79%) lived in high-income
countries. Patients' median age was 54, and the majority of individuals
(56%) were male.

The researchers analyzed patients' health post-COVID during
three intervals at one month (short-term), two to five months (intermediate-term) and six or more months (long-term).

According to the findings, survivors experienced an array of residual
health issues associated with COVID-19. Generally, these complications
affected a patient's general well-being, their mobility or organ
systems. Overall, one in two survivors experienced long-term COVID manifestations. The rates remained largely constant from one month
through six or more months after their initial illness.



==========================================================================
The investigators noted several trends among survivors, such as:
* General well-being:More than half of all patients reported weight
loss,
fatigue, fever or pain.

* Mobility:Roughly one in five survivors experienced a decrease in
mobility.

* Neurologic concerns: Nearly one in four survivors experienced
difficulty
concentrating.

* Mental health disorders: Nearly one in three patients were
diagnosed with
generalized anxiety disorders.

* Lung abnormalities: Six in ten survivors had chest imaging
abnormality
and more than a quarter of patients had difficulty breathing.

* Cardiovascular issues: Chest pain and palpitations were among the
commonly reported conditions.

* Skin conditions:Nearly one in five patients experienced hair loss or
rashes.

* Digestive issues: Stomach pain, lack of appetite, diarrhea and
vomiting
were among the commonly reported conditions.

"These findings confirm what many health care workers and COVID-19
survivors have been claiming, namely, that adverse health effects from
COVID-19 can linger," said co-lead investigator Vernon Chinchilli, chair
of the Department of Public Health Sciences. "Although previous studies
have examined the prevalence of long COVID symptoms among patients, this
study examined a larger population, including people in high-, middle-
and low-income countries, and examined many more symptoms. Therefore,
we believe our findings are quite robust given the available data."
"The burden of poor health in COVID-19 survivors is overwhelming," said
co-lead investigator Dr. Paddy Ssentongo, assistant professor at the
Penn State Center for Neural Engineering. "Among these are the mental
health disorders. One's battle with COVID doesn't end with recovery from
the acute infection.

Vaccination is our best ally to prevent getting sick from COVID-19 and to reduce the chance of long-COVID even in the presence of a breakthrough infection." The mechanisms by which COVID-19 causes lingering symptoms
in survivors are not fully understood. These symptoms could result from immune-system overdrive triggered by the virus, lingering infection, reinfection or an increased production of autoantibodies (antibodies
directed at their own tissues). The SARS-CoV-2 virus, the agent that
causes COVID-19, can access, enter and live in the nervous system. As
a result, nervous system symptoms such as taste or smell disorders,
memory impairment and decreased attention and concentration commonly
occur in survivors.

"Our study was not designed to confirm COVID-19 as the sole cause of these symptoms. It is plausible that symptoms reported by patients in some of
the studies examined were due to some other causes," said Ssentongo.



========================================================================== According to the researchers, early intervention will be critical for
improving the quality of life for many COVID-19 survivors. They said that
in the years ahead, health care providers will likely see an influx of
patients with psychiatric and cognitive problems, such as depression,
anxiety or post- traumatic stress disorder, who were otherwise healthy
before their COVID-19 infection. Based on these findings, health care
providers should plan and allocate resources accordingly in order to effectively monitor and treat these conditions.

The research team noted that these long-term health conditions may cause increased demand for medical care and could overwhelm health care systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. They said the findings
from this study could help shape treatment plans to improve care for
COVID-19 patients and establish integrated evidence-based clinical
management for those affected.

"Since survivors may not have the energy or resources to go back and
forth to their health care providers, one-stop clinics will be critical to effectively and efficiently manage patients with long COVID," Ssentongo
said. "Such clinics could reduce medical costs and optimize access to
care, especially in populations with historically larger health care disparities." Destin Groff, Ashley Sun, Anna Ssentongo, Djibril Ba,
Dr. Alain Lekoubou; Dr.

John Oh; and Dr. Jessica Ericson from Penn State College of Medicine contributed to this research. Nicholas Parsons from Deakin University
and Govinda Poudel from Australian Catholic University in Australia also contributed to this research.

The researchers declare no conflicts of interest or specific funding
for this research.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Penn_State. Original written by
Tracy Cox. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Destin Groff, Ashley Sun, Anna E. Ssentongo, Djibril M. Ba, Nicholas
Parsons, Govinda R. Poudel, Alain Lekoubou, John S. Oh, Jessica E.

Ericson, Paddy Ssentongo, Vernon M. Chinchilli. Short-term and
Long-term Rates of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection:
A Systematic Review.

JAMA Network Open, 2021; 4 (10): e2128568 DOI: 10.1001/
jamanetworkopen.2021.28568 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211013114112.htm

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