34.6 million people – according to the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, this is the number of people who have already been infected with the corona virus. After a few days or at least two weeks, most of those who are ill are fit again. But not everyone is like that. Statistically, it is only a small proportion of those infected with corona who have to struggle with the consequences of the virus for a long time. But a look at the numbers reveals: Long Covid is developing into a problem of epidemic proportions.
According to the World Health Organization, around ten to 20 percent of people who have been infected with corona suffer from medium- and long-term consequences after the disease. So let’s assume 10 percent. For Germany alone, that would soon mean 3.5 million people who are affected by long-term consequences. And with a new corona wave in autumn and winter, new corona infections will appear again – and the number of people who have long-Covid symptoms will then also increase.
The result of a recent study from Scotland: Between six and 18 months after the corona infection, one in 20 people has not yet recovered from the infection and a full 42 percent of people who were already infected with corona report that they only sometimes better. The researchers interviewed more than 100,000 people. One group had already been infected with Covid-19 and a second group had never had Sars-CoV-2 – they served as a control group. The scientists published their results in the journal “Nature”. According to the study, older people, women and people from disadvantaged groups have a higher risk of long Covid. People who already suffered from health and mental problems before the Corona infection are also more susceptible to Long Covid.
People who are more seriously ill and have been treated in hospital are also at greater risk of long covid. But this does not diminish the concern of experts. “It’s always been the case that those who are sick are more likely to have long-term consequences,” Davis Putrino, director of rehabilitation innovation at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, told the Washington Post mild cases far outnumber severe ones, so that even a small percentage of mild cases that develop long-term sequelae pose a massive public health problem.”
In view of the study results, Dr. Andrew McAuley of Public Health Scotland on getting vaccinated against Covid-19. “We know that full vaccination against Sars-CoV-2 can reduce the chance of developing Long Covid.”
In medicine, Long Covid and Post Covid Syndrome refer to two different disease states. Long Covid refers to complaints that exist at least four weeks after infection. Those affected suffer from post-Covid if the symptoms persist at least twelve weeks after the infection.
For better readability, only the term Long Covid was used in the text.
A study by the University Hospital Freiburg and the Universities of Heidelberg, Tübingen and Ulm also recently dealt with the Long Covid phenomenon. Even six to twelve months after a corona infection, every fourth person still suffers from long-term consequences, which affects not only their health but also their ability to work. The researchers interviewed 12,000 people from Baden-Württemberg aged 18 to 65 who were infected with Corona. The study appeared in the British Medical Journal.
Only people who already had a Covid 19 infection took part in the study. The results can therefore possibly be distorted by selective participation. This means that those who suffer from Long Covid are more likely to take part in such a survey than people without symptoms. Despite this possible effect, the researchers assume that the disease burden is high.
“Although we had suspected the tendency, we were very surprised at how many younger people with initially uncomplicated acute Sars-CoV-2 infection are at risk for Long Covid,” said study leader Professor Winfried Kern from the Department of Internal Medicine at the University Hospital Freiburg.
For those living with Long Covid, the impact is far-reaching – they suffer from a wide range of symptoms that impact all aspects of daily life. According to the two studies, the most common complaints include: chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, brain fog, fatigue and difficulty concentrating, anxiety and depressive symptoms. “There are many different impacts that go beyond health – on quality of life, employment, schooling and the ability to take care of yourself,” study author Jill Pell of the University of Glasgow told the Washington Post.
The research shows again that the symptoms of Long Covid can cover a wide range. Further research is needed to find out more about the symptoms – this is the only way doctors can treat the sick in the best possible way. The scientists from Scotland want to do more research on Long Covid and its effects.
Sources: Nature study, British Medical Journal study, RKI, Washington Post, study note 1, study note 2
