The number of COVID-19 symptoms you have could determine the longevity of your sickness, study finds | Photo Credit: iStock Images
New Delhi: One thing that has really shocked people around the world is the diverse range of symptoms that COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus exhibits in people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While some people do not develop any symptoms throughout the illness, even when they test positive for the virus, others develop mild to severe symptoms, a few days after contracting the virus, and soon recover from them. However, there is a group of people who suffer from various symptoms from the beginning of the illness, to months after they test negative for the virus. A small group of people around the world are also experiencing symptoms so severe, that they have proven fatal and led to the loss of life as well.
While researchers look into the virus and try to devise treatment methods and a safe, effective vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19, researchers have now stumbled upon some information that may explain the wide range of COVID-19 symptoms. According to the latest reports, studies suggest that the number of COVID-19 symptoms a patient has at the beginning of the disease can determine its longevity as well.
Researchers studied more than 4,000 people from the US, UK, and Sweden. They found that COVID-19 patients who had more than five symptoms of the infection during the first week of illness were more likely to be associated with Long COVID a condition where symptoms of the disease last for months, even after recovery.
Among the participants, subjects who experienced symptoms for more than 28 days, identified as a relatively long infection, were mostly older people, and more females. These patients were also reported to more likely require hospital care, as compared to those who had symptoms for a shorter period ten days or less.
The study has been published in the pre-print medRxiv, and is yet to be peer-reviewed.
At the population level, it is critical to quantify the burden of Long-COVID to better assess its impact on the healthcare system and appropriately distribute resources, the researchers from the University College London said in their paper.
In our study, prospective logging of a wide range of symptoms allowed us to conclude that the proportion of people with symptomatic COVID-19 who experience prolonged symptoms is considerable, and relatively stable across three countries with different cultures, they added.
All participants of the study were asked to record their symptoms in an app on their mobile devices, from March 25th to June 30th.
558 people had symptoms that lasted 28 days. 189 people's symptoms lasted more than 8 weeks, and 95 people had symptoms for more than 12 weeks. Around 1500 people had a short disease duration.
According to the study, the five symptoms that were seen during the first week of sickness were most predictive of prolonged illness, in both men and women. These symptoms included fatigue, headache, difficulty breathing, hoarse voice, and muscle pains. Memory and concentration issues, ear ringing, were also among the common onset symptoms.
Researchers also found that only one pre-existing condition, asthma, was associated with long-COVID.
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The number of COVID-19 symptoms you have could determine the longevity of your sickness, study finds - Times Now
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