Long-Covid — continued illness post-COVID-19 — is common after other respiratory infections, according to a study.
A team of researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK analyzed data from 190,000 participants. They classified them into: people hospitalized with Covid and those hospitalized with other lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). These were then compared with a reference group with no LRTI hospitalizations.
Participants completed surveys reporting on 45 different physical and psychological symptoms observed in the ear, nose, and throat, respiratory, neurological, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems.
The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, showed that people hospitalized with Covid had higher risks of 23 out of 45 symptoms. Similarly, those hospitalised for non-Covid LRTIs had 18 out of 45.
Dr. Junqing Xie from NDORMS at the varsity said the “post-acute effects of COVID-19 are not unique”. These “can also occur with other severe respiratory infections,” explained Junqing.
Those with Long COVID-19 are more likely to suffer from continued fatigue, breathlessness, and even brain fog. Some previous studies have shown that COVID-19 patients are also likely to have a persistent loss of taste. However, neurological and cognitive symptoms were also observed in the latest study.
They found that problems with thinking and communicating were higher in the reference group than in those hospitalized for other LRTIs.
Junqing called for expanding understanding of long-term health consequences that can arise from other severe respiratory infections. This is when healthcare systems worldwide continue to grapple with the after-effects of the Covid pandemic.
He also stressed the need to recognize differences/similarities between post-acute infections caused by a different virus. This can help plan better preventive measures and tailor care for these patients.
