COVID-19 has left a lasting mark on American life. Several months after the pandemic, it was clear that it would not go away any time soon. More than two years later, COVID is something we need to learn to live with, experts say. One aspect millions of people are learning to live with: long-lasting symptoms. Estimates of how many people suffer from “long COVID” vary. One study found that it may be larger than previously thought. Keep reading to learn more, and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss it Signs that you already have COVID.
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A new study of early patients with COVID found that in a group of people who had COVID-19, more than half of them had long-term symptoms of COVID two years later.
In the research, published this month in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, scientists analyzed more than 1,100 people in China who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 during the first months of the pandemic. They found that six months after infection, 68% reported long-term symptoms of COVID, and two years later, 55% did.
“This is incredibly worrying if we consider that long-term COVID affects not only inpatients but also outpatients (who were not studied here),” said Dr. David F. Putrino, Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Performance. at Mount Sinai in New York, he said Today’s medical news. “This study should serve as a reminder that death is not the only serious consequence of an acute COVID-19 infection.”
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The most common long-term symptoms of COVID were muscle weakness or fatigue and sleep disorders, which were reported by 31% of study participants. The study also found that people in the group with long-term symptoms of COVID were 62% more likely to have mobility problems, more than four times more likely to suffer pain or discomfort, and more than seven times more likely to have anxiety. or depression that people I have not had COVID.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
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Long COVID-19 (also known as PASC, for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19) is the umbrella term for a wide range of symptoms that can follow COVID-19 infection and last for weeks or months after infection. ‘have deleted. They include respiratory problems, fatigue, and neurological problems such as brain fog. They can range from uncomfortable to debilitating in severity.
This is an important issue. Aside from the Chinese study, other large studies indicate that between 20 and 30 percent of people infected with COVID-19 will develop long-term COVID-19. The General Accounting Office estimates that between 8 and 23 million Americans have developed COVID for a long time so far.
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Although the Chinese study was related to a particular group in the early days of the pandemic, a study published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided a new insight into the long-term effect of COVID in America.
According to CDC data as of November 2021, one in five Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 reported a subsequent health condition that could be attributable to COVID-19. Among adults over the age of 65, the figure was one in four. Researchers also found that people who had COVID were twice as likely to develop a pulmonary embolism. [a blood clot in the lungs, which can be fatal] or respiratory conditions that people who contracted the virus.
“As the cumulative number of people who have ever been infected with SARS-CoV-2 increases, the number of survivors suffering from post-COVID conditions is also likely to increase,” the researchers wrote. “Therefore, the implementation of COVID-19 prevention strategies, as well as the routine assessment of post-COVID conditions among people surviving COVID-19, is critical to reducing the incidence and impact. of post-COVID conditions, especially among adults ≥65 years. “
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Follow the basics and help end this pandemic, wherever you live: get vaccinated as soon as possible; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear a N95 mask, do not travel, social distancing, avoid large crowds, do not go inside with people with whom you do not take refuge (especially in bars), practice good hygiene hands, and to protect your life and the lives of others, do not visit any of them 35 sites where COVID is most likely to spread.
Miquel Martín
Michael Martin is a New York City writer and publisher whose content on health and lifestyle has also been published in Beachbody and Openfit. Eat This Contributing Writer, Not That !, has also been published in New York, Architectural Digest, Interview and many more. Read more