Long COVID: Half Of COVID Survivors Show Symptom Two Years After Infection, Finds A Lancet study

New Delhi: The longest follow-up study on COVID patients published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal found that more than half of the people who were hospitalised due to the virus still have at least one symptom after 2 years of infection. The research is based on 1,192 participants in China who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 and treated at Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan, between January 7 and May 29, 2020, at six months, 12 months, and two years. The study said that the evidence shows a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 have long-term effects on multiple organs and systems.

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Here Is All You Need To Know About The Study:

1. Six months after initially falling ill, 68 per cent of participants reported at least one long COVID symptom.
2. By two years after infection, reports of symptoms had fallen to 55 per cent.
3. Fatigue or muscle weakness were the symptoms most often reported and fell from 52 per cent at six months to 30 per cent at two years.
4. Regardless of the severity of their initial illness, 89 per cent of participants had returned to their original work at two years.
5. Two years after initially falling ill, patients with COVID-19 are generally in poorer health than the general population, with 31 per cent reporting fatigue or muscle weakness and 31 per cent reporting sleep difficulties.
6. COVID-19 patients were also more likely to report a number of other symptoms including joint pain, palpitations, dizziness, and headaches.
7. Around half of participants had symptoms of long COVID at two years, and reported lower quality of life than those without long COVID.
8. When it comes to mental health, 35 per cent reported pain or discomfort and 19 per cent reported anxiety or depression.
9. Long COVID participants also more often reported problems with their mobility or activity than those without the disorder.
10. The median age of participants at discharge was 57 years, and 54 per cent were men.

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While physical and mental health generally improved over time, the study suggests that COVID-19 patients still tend to have poorer health and quality of life than the general population.

Our findings indicate that for a certain proportion of hospitalised COVID-19 survivors, while they may have cleared the initial infection, more than two years is needed to recover fully from COVID-19. Ongoing follow-up of COVID-19 survivors, particularly those with symptoms of long COVID, is essential to understand the longer course of the illness, as is further exploration of the benefits of rehabilitation programmes for recovery, said the study lead author Professor Bin Cao, of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, China.

The researchers noted that there is a clear need to provide continued support to a significant proportion of the people who have had COVID-19, and to understand how vaccines, emerging treatments, and variants affect long-term health outcomes.

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.