Hair loss and sexual dysfunction have joined the list of symptoms for people with long-term COVID, according to a new study.
An estimated two million people in the UK are suffering from long-term COVID-19, the Office for National Statistics reported in June, based on self-reports from a representative sample.
Of those two million, 1.4 million said they had coronavirus for the first time or suspected they had the disease at least 12 weeks earlier, while 826,000 had it at least a year earlier.
Another 376,000 said they first had COVID-19 at least two years earlier.
Now, new research, based on the anonymized health records of 2.4 million people in the UK, conducted at the University of Birmingham and published in the journal Nature Medicine, has found several new symptoms .
According to the ONS, rates of long-term COVID are higher among women, those aged 35-69, people living in more deprived areas, those working in social care, teaching and education or health care and people with other health conditions or disabilities.
Fatigue remains the most common symptom, experienced by 55% of people with self-reported long-term COVID, followed by 32% with shortness of breath, 23% with cough and 23% with muscle pain.
The new study says other symptoms also include:
• Amnesia• Apraxia• Bowel incontinence• Erectile dysfunction• Hallucinations• Swelling of the limbs
The data was collected between January 2020 and April 2021 and included 486,149 people with previous infection and 1.9 million people with no evidence of COVID-19 infection.
Read more: Long-term COVID risk is lower for Omicron compared to Delta variant
The study used only non-hospitalized patients whose symptoms the researchers classified into the three different categories of respiratory symptoms, mental health and cognitive problems along with a wider range.
It is to this wider range of symptoms that hair loss and sexual dysfunction have been added.
Dr Shamil Haroon, clinical associate professor of public health at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the study, said he hoped the findings would help doctors.
“This research validates what patients have been telling doctors and policymakers throughout the pandemic, that long-term COVID symptoms are extremely broad and cannot be fully explained by other factors, such as risk factors for life or chronic health conditions”.
“The symptoms we have identified should help clinicians and clinical guideline developers improve the assessment of patients with long-term effects of COVID-19 and subsequently consider how this symptom burden can be better managed.” , added Dr. Haroon.
Patient partner and co-author of this study Jennifer Camaradou said: “This study is fundamental to create and add more value to understanding the complexity and pathology of long-term COVID.
“It highlights the degree and diversity of symptom expression among different groups. Patients with pre-existing health conditions will also appreciate further analysis of risk factors,” added Ms. Comrade