At least one in three hospitalized patients with COVID-19 suffers from long-term health issues including multiple organ and debilitating mental health problems, according to a study by look at the lasting effects of the disease.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the review looked at the frequency of symptoms among COVID “long-haulers”, the most common of which are obesity, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The authors of the study said the data highlighted a minor health crisis that required governments to examine more closely and find ways to manage it.
“With millions of people diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 worldwide, the long-term cost of physical, mental and mental health aspects remains to be seen,” said lead author Kartik Sehgal, medical oncologist at Dana -Farber Cancer in Boston. Institution, AFP reported. “Maybe we’re just catching the tip of the iceberg.”
While heavy COVID-19 affects patients’ lungs – leaving many with long-term respiratory issues – studies have shown that the virus also invades other organs, leading to several complications including cardiovascular disease and chronic inflammation.
Sehgal and colleagues reviewed nine longitudinal studies from Europe, the United States and China and found that several patients reported multiple organ problems months after discharge from the hospital.
Overall, they found that 30 percent of the patients surveyed reported at least one symptom, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and psychiatric conditions.
One Italian study of 143 patients found that nearly 90 percent reported lingering symptoms 60 days after their first COVID-19 infection.
The most common symptoms were obesity (53.1 percent), shortness of breath (43.4 percent), joint pain (27.3 percent) and chest pain (21.7 percent).
Overall, more than half of the patients suffered multiple symptoms two months after leaving the hospital.
Three studies from France, Britain and China showed that between 25-30 percent of patients reported sleep disturbances weeks after receiving COVID-19.
And about 20 percent of patients reported hair loss, according to results from multiple studies.
Perhaps the results on mental health were equally worrying.
In a cohort of 402 Italian survivors one month after hospitalization, 56 percent tested positive for at least one psychiatric condition such as PTSD, depression or anxiety.
The authors reported that approximately 30 percent of patients developed PTSD after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
“It is important not to forget about the mental health effects of COVID-19, while taking care of the physical symptoms, as they can be easily missed, said Sehgal, who is also a tutor at Harvard Medical School.
The researchers called for further research into COVID for a long time, and the establishment of more extensive clinics to treat people with lingering, life-changing symptoms.
Sehgal said he hoped the research showed that just surviving COVID-19 is not a satisfactory health result.
“While death prevention remains the most important goal, it is also important to recognize the morbidity of COVID-19 multi-organism,” he said.
“The medical needs of patients with COVID-19 do not stop at the time of discharge from hospital and they also do not stop after three or four weeks.”
© 2021 AFP