See what are the main consequences of the long Covid – 05/06/2023 – Health

Scientists have drawn up a list of the main sequelae of the so-called acute post-infection syndrome by Sars-CoV-2, also known as post-Covid syndrome or long Covid.

According to the research, published on the 25th in the scientific journal Jama (Journal of the American Medical Association), there are 37 symptoms that can characterize the syndrome, with a higher risk of appearance in individuals who had an infection up to six months before versus those who never had the disease.

Unlike other studies that listed the symptoms of the post-Covid syndrome based on electronic patient assessments, the survey assigned grades (scores) to the main symptoms that were reported and then performed a statistical analysis to include only those that had a higher frequency ( risk ratio 1.5 or greater) in patients who have had an infection in the past.

Thus, 12 symptoms with at least 25 symptomatic manifestations were found. The 12 main symptoms of long Covid are: loss of smell and taste, body aches (general malaise), persistent cough, mental confusion (“fog”), thirst, palpitations, chest pains, fatigue, loss of desire or sexual ability, dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms and abnormal movements.

Symptoms may appear isolated or together and persist for at least 30 days. The research is still in progress and, therefore, new future results may be presented.

The survey included 9,764 participants, of whom 8,646 had a past infection and 1,118 did not. Participants from 85 cities across the United States were included. The research is part of the Recover study that seeks to define the symptoms of long-term Covid, understand the mechanisms involved and outline possible treatments, in a large population over 18 years old in the country, developed by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The period studied comprised patients infected at the beginning of the pandemic until April 10, 2023, since the research is still ongoing. The analysis also verified whether there was a difference between the symptoms reported by those who had an infection before, during and after the omicron wave in the country, since other studies have indicated different symptoms associated with this and other variants.

The incidence of post-Covid syndrome found was approximately 1 in 10 individuals with a previous history of Sars-CoV-2 infection. Regarding the different waves, the frequency and severity of symptoms were higher in patients who had the disease before the arrival of omicron.

Also according to the study, patients were divided into four groups according to the most frequent post-Covid syndrome symptoms: the first, with a change in smell or taste (100%); in the second, malaise (99%) and fatigue (84%) were more common; the third included participants with mental confusion (100%), malaise (99%) and fatigue (94%); and finally, the last and fourth group had fatigue, malaise, mental confusion (94%), palpitations (86%) and gastrointestinal disorders (88%).

The authors state that, given the symptom heterogeneity of post-Covid syndrome, determining whether long-term Covid represents a single condition or reflects a cluster of phenotypes (symptoms) is important. “Recent studies support the presence of different clusters of post-Covid syndrome symptoms, although the characterization of these clusters [fenótipos] is inconsistent and reliant on widely available data.”

It is still necessary, however, to better define what are the possible risk factors associated with the consequences of Covid. In the survey, 71% of participants were women, 16% Hispanic or Latino, and 15% black. Other studies indicate that women and older people are at greater risk of developing long-term Covid.

Also, understanding the role of vaccination in the onset of post-Covid symptoms is essential. As many of the patients had the condition of Covid before the omicron, when the variants were generally more aggressive and the vaccination coverage was still not homogeneous, it is possible that the sequelae are reduced in those who received the vaccine booster.

According to the researchers, the study is the first to classify cases of acute post-infection syndrome of Sars-CoV-2 according to the frequency of symptoms, and new research may improve, even through algorithms, what characterizes Covid long.

The inclusion of patients’ sociodemographic data, such as gender, age, presence of comorbidities, pregnancy and vaccination status at the time they contracted Covid, can also help to better understand the association of symptoms with different risk factors.

SEE THE LIST OF SYMPTOMS BELOW

• Fatigue;

• Fever/chills/sweat;

• Malaise;

• Swelling of the legs;

• Chest pains;

• Palpitations;

• Loss of hair;

• Changes in skin tone;

• Skin injuries;

• Skin pains;

• Vision changes;

• Hearing changes;

• Abdominal pain;

• Dry mouth;

• Gastrointestinal disorders;

• Toothache;

• Back pain;

• Foot pain;

• Joint pains;

• Muscle pain;

• Weakness;

• Abnormal movements;

• Mental confusion;

• Dizziness;

• Headache;

• Loss of smell or taste;

• Tremors;

• Anxiety;

• Depression;

• Loss of sexual desire or inability;

• Sleep disorders;

• Persistent cough;

• Shortness of breathe;

• Sleep apnea;

• Sore throat;

• urinary problems