READ THIS NEXT: Dr. Fauci Just Said This Is the Tell-Tale Sign You Have Long COVID. Even though patients have reported lingering issues with COVID since the earlier days of the pandemic, it was only the passage of time that eventually showed long COVID was a relatively common outcome for survivors of the virus. According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that analyzed the medical records of 353,164 patients, one in five people under the age of 65 in the U.S. who’ve recovered from an initial COVID infection has reported at least one symptom or health condition related to long COVID, while one in four who are 65 or older have reported the same, per The New York Times. The research found that patients reported symptoms ranging from complications in organ systems, including the kidneys, lungs, and heart, to gastrointestinal issues, blood circulatory problems, neurological conditions, and psychiatric issues. According to the results, the most common lingering ailments across all age groups were musculoskeletal pain and respiratory issues. “It is sobering to see the results of this study again confirming the breadth of organ dysfunction and the scale of the problem,” Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, chief of research and development at the V.A. St. Louis Health Care System and a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, who was not involved in the study, told The Times. But besides age being a risk factor, new research has also shed light on how other traits and medical conditions can affect how likely someone is to develop long COVID. In a recent unpublished study from genetic testing company 23andMe that has not been peer-reviewed, researchers used data from over 100,000 COVID patients, including more than 26,000 who self-reported lingering symptoms and over 7,000 diagnosed with long COVID. Data analysis showed that in terms of risk factors, patients with a history of cardiometabolic disease—which includes hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and coronary artery disease—saw their chances of developing long COVID increase by 90 percent.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Results also showed that other conditions or traits could make someone more likely to suffer a lingering bout with symptoms. Data found that patients who reported previously having depression or anxiety saw a two-fold increase in their likelihood of a long COVID diagnosis. And analysis also upheld previous research in finding that “women are at least twice as likely to be diagnosed with long COVID compared to men even when controlling for age, ethnicity, and related health conditions,” the researchers wrote. In fact, results showed that 78 percent of patients in the study diagnosed with long COVID were female. Other results pointed at having survived a more severe illness from the virus also correlated with a higher instance of lingering symptoms. “Researchers found that individuals with COVID who required hospitalization had a more than ten-fold risk of being diagnosed with long COVID compared to those who were not hospitalized when controlling for age, sex, and ethnicity,” the team said. Despite the findings, the research team admits the study has some limitations. Most notably, the data used relied on self-reported symptoms from a group of consenting subjects instead of a random group of patients across a broader set of demographics. They also point out that long COVID diagnoses are “still nebulous and highly variable,” with some reported symptoms still considered subjective.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb However, the team ultimately concluded that their results could provide a solid foundation for forthcoming studies. “As people continue to deal with symptoms of long COVID, using studies like ours to better understand the illness will be increasingly important,” the team writes. “Projecting over the millions of individuals worldwide who’ve been infected or are yet to be infected, the public health impact of long COVID is likely to linger for years to come. Understanding the underlying biology and associations may help as scientists wrestle with the best way to treat the condition.” READ THIS NEXT: If You’re Over 40, This One COVID Symptom Might Never Go Away.
