Coronavirus: Study identifies THESE health problems during infection are predictors for long COVID

Coronavirus is typically an acute illness which lasts no longer than three weeks. However, some patients experience lingering symptoms even months after the infection. According to the World Health Organisation, long COVID refers to symptoms of the COVID-19 virus that last longer than 12 weeks. It can affect multiple organs and comes with a wide range of long-lasting symptoms.

Researchers are studying what causes this peculiar phenomenon and now a new study has identified predictors during COVID infection that may determine the risk of getting long COVID.

These findings suggest that long COVID was more likely to happen among people with obesity, along with those who experienced hair loss, headache, and sore throat during COVID-19 infection.

The new research has emerged from a series of bi-weekly interviews conducted on COVID-19 patients between March 2020 and March 2021. The study is published in the Journal of Scientific Reports.

The study’s final sample included 308 infected, non-hospitalised individuals. Of these patients, 23 percent reported having new-onset symptoms during infection which lasted for more than 12 weeks, and thus can be considered as long COVID. 23 percent is a very high prevalence and can be translated to millions of people.

Among these individuals with long COVID, there were certain health factors which could have a link to their development of lingering symptoms.

The researchers have found that obesity is the most commonly and consistently reported risk factor associated with long COVID. This finding is also consistent with previous studies on long COVID. Obesity is also one of the strongest risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection.

Apart from this, other pre-existing conditions such as asthma can also increase one's risk of developing long COVID.

There are also some COVID symptoms which may predict development of long COVID. These include hair loss, headache, and sore throat. Experiencing anosmia (partial or full loss of smell) and diarrhea are also linked to development of persistent symptoms.

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One surprising finding of the research was that people experiencing chest congestion during infection were less likely to get long COVID.

They also found that there is a lack of evidence of development of long COVID’s connection with a person’s age, gender, race/ethnicity, education and current smoking status.

Researchers believe the growing knowledge around long COVID’s symptoms and risk factors can prove beneficial for health care professionals to help long-haulers get back to their normal lives.

Researchers found that the most commonly reported persistent symptoms are headache (22 percent) runny or stuffy nose (19 percent), abdominal discomfort (18 percent), and fatigue (17 percent).

For children, primary long-term symptoms include fatigue, headaches, difficulty with school work, mood concerns and shortness of breath

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There is some evidence that suggests people with omicron, the dominant strain in most countries at present, are half as likely to develop long COVID. Still, Omicron’s new sub variants – BA.4 AND BA.5 – are believed to be better at evading immune defenses. They are also thought to have a higher capacity for reinfection and breakthrough cases. Researchers warn that the omicron wave is likely to increase the number of long-haulers with lasting health problems from the initial infection.

Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. A study published on Research Square found that risk of long COVID increased with each COVID reinfection. Some studies also say that vaccines decrease the risk of long COVID.