Long Covid – some patients still struggling

MANY patients with long Covid have been unable to return properly to work six months after infection, a study suggests.

New research examined the impact on people months after their initial infection. While some seemingly return to normal health, others are left with debilitating fatigue and so-called “brain fog”, among other symptoms.

The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, examined symptoms as well as other factors.

Researchers from Patient-Led Research for Covid-19 conducted a survey of over 3,700 long Covid patients from 56 different countries. A third were in their 40s, 27% in their 50s and 26% were aged 30 to 39. Most respondents (79%) were women. Just 8% were admitted to hospital for their Covid-19 symptoms and only a quarter reported a lab-confirmed case of Covid-19. Most (96%) reported that their symptoms lasted more than 90 days.

The paper found that symptoms affected ten different “organ systems”. The most frequent symptoms after six months were fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and post-exertional malaise – the worsening of symptoms after even minor physical or mental exertion.