Study raises concern about "long-term Covid"

 New data indicates that most people with COVID-19 who continue to experience some side effects after 12 months are likely to have them even after 18 months. The results are from a large study of 33,281 people in Scotland who tested positive for coronavirus, and most of the results are consistent with those from previous smaller studies.

In the study published in the journal (Nature Communications), the researchers stated that most of those who consisted of a subgroup of 197 recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection, an infection that was accompanied by symptoms, completed surveys in the 12th and 18th months. They said that symptoms from the consequences of the disease remained with them after these two periods of infection.

And the non-recovery rates up to 12 months recorded 11 percent, while the partial recovery reached 51 percent and the full recovery reached 39 percent. The rates were exactly the same up to 18 months. Those who were infected without symptoms did not suffer from any long-term health effects, but half of those who were infected and had symptoms of the disease, and their total number in the study was 31,486, said that a period ranging between 6 months and a year and a half passed without feeling that they had fully recovered.

The researchers reported that one in 20 patients with symptomatic infection said in the latest follow-up that his recovery was not complete yet. "Our study is important because it adds to our understanding of long-term (symptoms associated with) COVID-19 in the general public, not just in people who required hospitalization for COVID-19," Jill Bell, who led the study from the University of Glasgow, said in a statement.

The likelihood of developing residual symptoms associated with Covid-19 for a long time was greater among those who were hospitalized, the elderly, females, those with difficult socio-economic conditions, and those with pre-existing health problems. The most common chronic symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, confusion and "brain fog".

The researchers also concluded that vaccination before infection appears to protect against some of the long-term symptoms. The researchers also included in their results a survey of nearly 63,000 individuals who tested positive for Covid-19, to distinguish between health problems caused by the Corona virus and expected health problems among the general public.