Scientists, listing the health risks from surviving COVID-19, said despite being primarily a respiratory virus, long COVID-19 can strike nearly every organ system in the human body.
To find out the long-term effects of Post COVID-19 or Post-Covid syndrome, the researchers examined the data of 13,654 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and compared it with 13,997 patients hospitalized with seasonal flu.
The results of the study suggest, originally being a respiratory virus, long COVID-19 can impact nearly every organ system in the body. With the help of this study, they were able to identify newly diagnosed major health problems that remained in COVID-19 patients over at least six months and that affected nearly every organ and regulatory system of the body.
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Here’s the list of all the most common health issues that persisted in COVID-19 patients over six months:
- Respiratory system: persistent cough, shortness of breath and low oxygen levels in the blood.
- Nervous system: stroke, headaches, memory problems and problems with senses of taste and smell.
- Mental health: anxiety, depression, sleep problems and substance abuse.
- Metabolism: new onset of diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol.
- Cardiovascular system: acute coronary disease, heart failure, heart palpitations and irregular heart rhythms.
- Gastrointestinal system: constipation, diarrhea and acid reflux.
- Kidney: acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease that can, in severe cases, require dialysis.
- Coagulation regulation: blood clots in the legs and lungs.
- Skin: rash and hair loss.
- Musculoskeletal system: joint pain and muscle weakness.
- General health: malaise, fatigue and anemia.
“Long COVID-19 is more than a typical postviral syndrome. The size of the risk of disease and death and the extent of organ system involvement is far higher than what we see with other respiratory viruses, such as influenza”
explained Sr. author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, an assistant professor of medicine.