Scholars from the University of London and Dartmouth University in the UK conducted a large-scale investigation into the prevalence of Long-COVID and symptoms. The results showed that by the end of 2022, approximately 1 in 7 people in the United States will have experienced Long-COVID. Experiencing Long-COVID is associated with anxiety and low mood, as well as an increased likelihood of persistent physical mobility problems and challenges with memory, attention, or comprehension, according to findings published in the journal PLOSONE. People who have been vaccinated appear to have a lower risk of anxiety and low mood.

Co-author Professor Alex Bryson (UCL Institute for Social Research) said: "Very little is known about long-term vaccination and its impact on health and wellbeing, but there is growing evidence that many people experience persistent and worrying symptoms, and we found that millions of people in the US continue to be affected by Long -The impact of COVID, with some groups affected much more than others. "Compared with people who have never had COVID-19, those who have had it are still more likely to report low mood, difficulty performing daily tasks, and difficulties with memory, concentration, and comprehension."

Extensive data analysis by researchers

The researchers examined data from 461,550 people who participated in the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey from June to December 2022. They compared people who said they had never had COVID-19 with people who had COVID-19 but had mild symptoms, as well as people who were currently or previously infected with Long-COVID.

In line with the World Health Organization (WHO), they define Long-COVID as the persistence of symptoms or the development of new symptoms for at least three months after initial infection.

The researchers found that nearly half (47%) of respondents reported having had COVID-19, while 14% of the total had had Long-COVID, and half of those (7% of the total) still had Long-COVID symptoms when they answered the survey. The findings suggest that one in three people infected with COVID-19 may eventually develop Long-COVID symptoms. The researchers cautioned that one limitation of their study is that it relied on people's self-reports of symptoms, and some respondents may have been infected with COVID-19 without knowing it.

The researchers found that people who had had COVID-19 were more likely to experience negative mood (anxiety, depression, worry or lack of interest), as well as difficulty with physical mobility, dressing and bathing, all of which were self-reported by answering questionnaires. Having Long-COVID is also associated with self-reported memory or concentration problems and problems understanding or being understood.

They also found that women were more likely than men to get Long-COVID, and that it was also more common in white people, middle-aged people, and people with lower income or education, and that it was most common in West Virginia (18% of the population) and least common in Hawaii (11% of the population).

Long-COVID was also more common among patients who developed severe illness during their initial COVID-19 infection, as 31% of people who reported currently having Long-COVID said they initially had severe illness, compared with 7% of people who were infected with COVID-19 but did not develop Long-COVID.

The researchers believe further research is needed to better understand how Long-COVID causes various potential symptoms, as well as better longitudinal data to understand the potential impact of vaccination on Long-COVID risk.

Reference: David G. Blanchflower and Alex Bryson's article "Long-COVID in the United States" published in PLOSONE on November 2, 2023.

DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0292672

Compiled source: ScitechDaily