The epidemiology, diagnosis and prognosis of long-COVID

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES

Volume

35

Issue

12

First Page

1133

Last Page

1139

PubMed ID

36597293

Publisher

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

School

Centre for Precision Health

RAS ID

54190

Funders

National Key R&D Program of China-European Commission Horizon 2020 [2017YFE0118800]

Comments

Ying, D. U., Zhang, J., Wu, L. J., Zhang, Q., & Wang, Y. X. (2022). The epidemiology, diagnosis and prognosis of long-COVID. Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, 35(12), 1133-1139. https://doi.org/10.3967/bes2022.143

Abstract

As of October 26, 2022, more than 625 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 6.56 million deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), and the natural history, clinical course, and long-term consequences of this new disease are still not completely understood. After more than two years of fighting against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the number of patients with long-term persistent COVID-19 symptoms after acute infection is noteworthy. This group of symptoms was called “long COVID” by WHO. Previous studies have shown that approximately 6.2 % − 79 % of COVID-19 survivors may develop long COVID, which was characterized by persistent symptoms lasting for 3 months or more after acute COVID-19. The reported prevalence of long COVID was likely overestimated because people with long COVID were perhaps more motivated to enroll. The most common symptoms of long COVID-19 include fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, loss of taste or smell, myalgia, gastrointestinal disturbance, high heart rates, mood changes, anxiety, insomnia, headache, sore throat, chest pain, palpitations, diarrhea, nausea, joint pain, hair loss, skin rashes, and memory and cognitive dysfunction even several months after infection. Even home-isolated adults with mild COVID-19 were at risk of long-lasting dyspnea. These symptoms varied in prevalence, relapse pattern, duration and severity. The WHO and United Kingdom (UK) Office for National Statistics have estimated that 10 % of COVID-19 cases will lead to long COVID, regardless of hospitalization history. Compared with nonseriousdiseases, persistent symptoms seemed to be more likely to appear after serious diseases, and people treated in intensive care units have the most obvious symptoms in the recovery period.

DOI

10.3967/bes2022.143

Access Rights

free_to_read

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