As many as one in four adults and one in five adults under the age of 65 experience “long covid” or “post-COVID” symptoms after surviving a coronavirus infection, a new study by the Centers for to Disease Control and Prevention.
The study, published in the CDC’s weekly morbidity and mortality report, is the latest to try to quantify how many of the millions of Americans who have now tested positive for the virus face long-term problems caused by their disease. infection.
When comparing electronic health records in a large national patient database, the study authors found that 38.2% of COVID-19 survivors “experienced at least one incident condition,” a list that includes heart, lung, kidney, and gastrointestinal problems, pain, fatigue, loss of smell or taste, mental health problems, and more in the months following your infection. In contrast, only 16% of other people were diagnosed with these conditions.
“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 study authors wrote.
The study only analyzed data from March 2020 to November 2021, before the massive increase in the Omicron variant during the winter. Based on antibody surveys, the CDC estimates that the proportion of Americans who have survived the virus rose to nearly 60 percent over the winter, from a third in December.
Among the 26 conditions examined by the study, the most common symptoms were “respiratory symptoms and musculoskeletal pain” in both the elderly and other adults.
Among people over the age of 65 or older, the researchers warned that they had a “higher risk of developing neurological conditions” and other mental health problems ranging from mood disorders to substance abuse. substances.
Another study, also published this week, by scientists at Northwestern University, reported that many of the so-called “long chargers” faced conditions such as brain fog and numbness for more than a year after their initial infection. .
Doctor urges people not to give up pandemic precautions due to long-term risk of COVID 06:55
The authors of the CDC study also point out that there are some factors that can complicate their estimates.
For example, doctors may have been “more likely to document possible post-COVID conditions” among people who have survived the virus, leading to an overestimation of the risk of these symptoms.
On the other hand, the comparison of the study with others without previous infection was drawn from other patients who “sought care.” This could lead to an underestimation of the actual high risk of an infection, the study authors said, as these others could actually be “sicker” than an actual control group.
Previous studies have reached different estimates of the proportion of survivors facing long-term symptoms of COVID. Part of this may be the result of the wide range of ways scientists have defined post-COVID in their studies, observing different time intervals since infection or different symptoms.
“You see a number of 30 or 50 percent. I think it’s clearly not entirely correct in terms of how many people are really disabled because of this in a significant way,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, Principal COVID-19. of the White House. 19, said on the podcast “In the Bubble” earlier this month.
“But having said that, what this means, unfortunately, is that other people are minimizing long-term COVID,” Jha added.
The latest report is among several ongoing studies that the CDC has supported with the goal of understanding the impact of post-COVID symptoms.
The CDC renewed its post-COVID guidelines earlier this month, adding conditions such as “depression or anxiety” to the list of common symptoms. The agency also presented a list of reasons why some people may be at higher risk after surviving COVID-19, such as those who have had a more serious illness or who were not vaccinated.
However, the guide notes that more research is needed, both from the CDC and elsewhere at the National Institutes of Health, on how to treat these patients post-COVID.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. The NIH has said it plans to launch studies this year to test potential drugs to treat post-COVID conditions.
“I think we need to start trying new therapies. I’m interested in questions like, getting Paxlovid reduces your chances of having a long COVID. Because if you have a much shorter viremia, will that make a difference?” said Jha.
More Alexander Tin
CBS News reporter covering public health and pandemic.