INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
California: Long COVID-19 can persist for at least a year after the acute illness has passed, according to the most detailed analysis of how
symptoms change over a year.By describing trends in greater detail than previous research and highlighting the significant impacts the
epidemic has had on the American health care system, the multicenter study, a collaboration between UC San Francisco, the Centers for
Disease Control, and seven other sites, advances understanding of post-COVID-19 conditions.The study appeared in Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report (MMWR), a publication of the CDC.For about 16 per cent of the COVID-positive people in the study, symptoms lasted for at least
a year; but for others, they came and went
The study assessed symptoms every three months, enabling researchers to differentiate between symptoms that improve and those that emerge
months after the initial infection."It was common for symptoms to resolve then re-emerge months later," said lead author Juan Carlos Montoy,
MD, PhD, associate professor at UCSF's Department of Emergency Medicine
"A lot of prior research has focused on symptoms at one or two points in time, but we were able to describe symptom trajectory with greater
It suggests that measurements at a single point in time could underestimate or mischaracterises the true burden of disease."Fluctuating
Nature of Disease:Long COVID involves a range of symptoms that persist or develop about a month after initial infection
These symptoms are associated with significant morbidity or reduced quality of life.The study involved 1,741 participants - two-thirds of
them female - who sought COVID-19 testing at eight major healthcare systems across the country
Three-quarters tested positive for COVID-19, but those who tested negative may also have had an infection of some type, since they were
These included fatigue, runny nose, headache, sore throat, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhoea, forgetfulness and difficulty thinking
COVID positive participants were more likely to have symptoms in each of the symptom categories at baseline, but by the end of the year,
there was no difference between those who were COVID-positive and negative."We were surprised to see how similar the patterns were between
the COVID positive and COVID negative groups," said Montoy
"It shows that the burden after COVID may be high, but it might also be high for other non-COVID illnesses
We have a lot to learn about post-illness processes for COVID and other conditions."(With inputs from ANI)
