A large-scale study in China shows this.

We know that if you’ve had COVID-19, it can take quite a while for you to fully recover. For example, some complaints can last for months. We then speak of Long COVID. However, most symptoms of COVID-19 have resolved within 12 months in hospitalized patients. But not everyone. A large proportion of seriously ill corona patients still experience at least one persistent symptom one year later, according to a large-scale Chinese study.

Study

The researchers conducted their study among 1,276 corona patients who were discharged from a hospital in the Chinese city of Wuhan between January and May 2020. The mean age of the study participants was 57 years. Six and twelve months after experiencing the first symptoms, they underwent close health checks. These include personal questionnaires, physical examination, lab tests and a six-minute walk test to measure the patients’ endurance.

Symptoms
The findings are striking. Because although most symptoms had disappeared after twelve months, about half of the seriously ill corona patients still had at least one persistent complaint after one year. This is usually due to fatigue or muscle weakness. In addition, one in three patients still had shortness of breath after one year. Lung disease persisted in some patients, especially those who had been severely ill. All in all, the researchers conclude that former corona patients were less healthy than people who had not had the corona virus.

Long-term recovery

It means that recovery from COVID-19 is taking a lot longer than expected for some. “Our study is the largest to date to assess the health of hospitalized corona patients 12 months after they became ill,” said study researcher Bin Cao. “While most made a good recovery, some patients continue to struggle with health problems, especially those who have been seriously ill during their hospitalization. Our findings suggest that recovery may take longer than a year in some corona patients. This should also be taken into account after the pandemic.”

Mental health

In addition, it appears that corona patients cannot only continue to have physical problems. Some also develop mental complaints, such as anxiety or depression. Remarkably, slightly more patients experienced such complaints after one year than after six months (23% after 6 months versus 26% after 12 months). “We don’t yet fully understand why psychological symptoms are slightly more common after one year than after six months,” said study researcher Xiaoying Gu. “These could be caused by a biological process related to the virus infection itself, or the body’s immune response to it. But it can also be related to reduced social contact, loneliness, incomplete recovery of physical health or loss of work due to illness.”

Man vs Woman
Compared to men, women were 1.4 times more likely to suffer from fatigue or muscle weakness, the findings show. They are also twice as likely to report feeling anxious or depressed. In addition, women were three times more likely to have a diffusion disorder after 12 months.

The researchers emphasize that follow-up studies are very important. “Large long-term studies are needed to better understand the physical and mental health consequences of COVID-19,” Gu said. Researchers are particularly interested in people who have been seriously ill and who have been in intensive care, because they more often still experience complaints after a year.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the need to understand and respond to lung COVID-19 becomes increasingly urgent,” scientists said in an editorial published at the same time as the study. “Symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog and depression can debilitate many millions of people worldwide. Yet very little is known about the condition. Without proven treatments or rehabilitation counseling, long-term COVID affects people’s ability to resume normal lives. The effect on society, such as increased burden of care or economic consequences, is considerable. Lung COVID is a modern medical challenge of the highest order.”