2023-10-27 13:57:00
The Covid-19 pandemic has left traces on many people that extend far beyond the acute infection phase. In Great Britain, tens of thousands of people are still suffering from the consequences more than a year following their infection. This is shown by a current study by Imperial College London.
Professor Paul Elliott explains in a university report: “We collected data from three million people and were able to follow up on around 2.4 million of them.” Of these, around 800,000 people were asked regarding their symptoms. Around 250,000 took part in the study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications.
The evaluation showed that 7.5 percent of those surveyed reported symptoms that lasted longer than twelve weeks. In five percent, the symptoms even lasted longer than a year.
It is still unclear what exactly triggers “Long Covid” – a collective term for around 200 different symptoms such as fatigue or joint pain. According to estimates, between ten and thirty percent of all those who have recovered might suffer from it.
Women reported long-term symptoms more often than men. People with severe initial symptoms or previous illnesses were also more severely affected. “People with persistent symptoms had a significantly poorer quality of life,” emphasizes Professor Helen Ward from Imperial College London in the report.
The study provides insight into the long-term impact of Covid-19 in the UK. Despite the usually short-term infection, many adults suffer from persistent symptoms, which in some cases can last for over a year.
“People who were infected early in the pandemic were more likely to have long-term symptoms,” says Ward in the Imperial College report. The reasons for this are still unclear, but might be related to immune status or vaccinations.
Despite the alarming numbers, there is also reason for hope: a third of those surveyed with Long Covid said they eventually fully recovered.
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