How many people get 'long COVID?' More than half, researchers find

 

I might have had this.  When I was sick in the spring of 2020, I had a flat tire on the way to the Covid testing place, never got tested.  It was a relatively mild case, I've felt a lot sicker from the flu.  For almost a year and a half after I recovered,  I kept having one or more days of needing to sleep 12 hours and also have to take a nap.  I don't think I went as much as a week between these episodes.  They finally cleared up after I was vaccinated.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/931397

 News Release 13-Oct-2021
Half of COVID survivors experience lingering symptoms six months after recovery
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Penn State

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.

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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.

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