Over 76% Covid patients report persisting symptoms 6 months after infection — Lancet study

Study found patients who were severely ill in hospital were more likely to have impaired lung function and abnormalities in the chest 6 months after onset of symptoms.

Representational image | Photo: Hector Retamal | AFP/Getty Images via Bloomberg

New Delhi: Over three quarters of hospitalised Covid-19 patients have at least one ongoing symptom six months after getting infected with the virus, according to a new study published in The Lancet journal that looked at the long-term effects of coronavirus infection.

The study, conducted on Covid-19 patients in Wuhan, shows that fatigue or muscle weakness was the most common symptom, persisting in 63 per cent of the patients who had Covid-19. As much as 26 per cent of the patients frequently reported sleep difficulties while 23 per cent of the patients reported anxiety or depression.

The study also found that patients who were severely ill in hospital were more likely to have impaired lung function and abnormalities detected in chest imaging six months after symptom onset. This, according to the researchers, could indicate organ damage. 

“Because Covid-19 is such a new disease, we are only beginning to understand some of its long-term effects on patients’ health,” Bin Cao, from National Center for Respiratory Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Capital Medical University and of the researchers, said in a statement. 

“Our analysis indicates that most patients continue to live with at least some of the effects of the virus after leaving hospital, and highlights a need for post-discharge care, particularly for those who experience severe infections,” Cao said. 

The work underscores the importance of conducting longer follow-up studies in larger populations in order to understand the effects that Covid-19 can have on people. 

The study

The study included 1,733 Covid-19 patients who were discharged from Jin Yin-tan Hospital in Wuhan, China, between 7 January and 29 May last year. On average, the patients were followed up for 186 days.

Little is known about the long-term health effects of Covid-19 as few follow-up studies have so far been carried out. Those that have been conducted looked only at a small number of cases over a short follow-up period (typically around three months after discharge).

In the study published in Lancet, as much as 76 per cent of patients — 1,265 out of 1,655 — reported at least one ongoing symptom. Additional testing revealed that patients with more severe illness commonly had reduced lung function. These patients also performed worse in a test which measures the distance covered in six minutes.

Some patients also developed kidney problems after being discharged. 

The study further noted that the levels of neutralising antibodies fell by more than half after six months in 94 patients whose immune response was tested at the peak of the infection. This raises concerns about the possibility of being reinfected by the virus.