New study indicates one in 20 people suffer from long-term effects of COVID-19

A new study in Scotland indicates that one in 20 people suffers from long-term effects after recovering from COVID-19. 

The study led by the University of Glasgow evaluated the long-term effects of COVID-19. Researchers found that some long-term effects of the disease could cause severe infections and even require hospitalization.

The most at-risk groups were older women with lower incomes. The Scottish-based study was started in May 2021 and discovered that patients vaccinated before they caught the infectious disease were less likely to suffer from long-term symptoms.

Common symptoms associated with long-term effects include chest pain, brain fog, palpitations and breathlessness. Patients may experience these symptoms in a mild to moderate range, but some effects may not necessarily be a “long COVID” (post-COVID-19) diagnosis.

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The researchers note that long COVID-19 was more likely to exist in those with pre-existing medical conditions such as respiratory illness or mental health problems such as depression.

“Our study is important because it adds to our understanding of long COVID in the general population, not just in those people who need to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19,” said Jill Pell, professor of public health at the University of Glasgow.

“By comparing symptoms with those uninfected, we were able to distinguish between health problems that are due to COVID-19 and health problems that would have happened anyway,” Pell added.

The study found that 6% of people felt they still had symptoms of the disease, and 42% of COVID-19 patients believed they were only partially recovered after six to 18 months after being diagnosed.

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Researchers used a Scottish population cohort of 33,281 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections and paired them with 62,957 individuals from the general population who had never been diagnosed. Both groups were given questionnaires six, 12 and 18 months later.

Moreover, patients with an asymptomatic infection from COVID-19 did not appear to have any long-term symptoms.