Surprising new symptoms have been revealed for those suffering from Long Covid. Among the list of after-effects of Covid-19 are hair loss, a low sex drive, fatigue and brain fog.
More than two million people were involved in the study, following which, researchers discovered that Long Covid sufferers have experienced a much wider set of symptoms, more than 60 in fact, including sexual dysfunction and alopecia. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, were reported by Cornwall Live.
According to the study, patients with a primary care record of infection with the virus that causes Covid-19 reported 62 symptoms much more frequently 12 weeks after initial infection than those who hadn’t contracted the virus. Anonymised electronic health records of 2.4 million people in the UK were analysed by researchers from the University of Birmingham alongside a team of doctors and researchers across England.
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Data was collected between January 2020 and April 2021 and involved more than 480,000 people with prior infection, and 1.9 million people with no indication of coronavirus infection after matching for other clinical diagnoses. Using only non-hospitalised patients, the team of researchers were able to identify three categories of distinct symptoms reported by people with persistent health problems after infection.
Emerging patterns showed symptoms grouped into respiratory, mental health and cognitive problems, and then a broader range of symptoms. While the most common symptoms include anosmia - loss of sense of smell, shortness of breath, chest pain and fever; others included amnesia, bowel incontinence, erectile dysfunction, hallucinations, limb swelling and apraxia - the inability to perform familiar movements or commands.
Dr Shamil Haroon, the study author and Associate Clinical Professor in Public Health at the University of Birmingham, said: “This research validates what patients have been telling clinicians and policy makers throughout the pandemic, that the symptoms of Long Covid are extremely broad and cannot be fully accounted for by other factors such as lifestyle risk factors or chronic health conditions.”
As well as identifying a wider set of symptoms, the research team also found key demographic groups and behaviours which put people at increased risk of developing Long Covid. The study suggests that women, younger people; or belonging to a black, mixed or other ethnic group are at greater risk of developing Long Covid.
People from less affluent socio-economic backgrounds, smokers, people who are overweight or obese, as well as the presence of a wide range of health conditions were also associated with reporting persistent symptoms.
Patient partner and study co-author Jennifer Camaradou said: “This study is instrumental in creating and adding further value to understanding the complexity and pathology of long Covid. It highlights the degree and diversity of expression of symptoms between different clusters. Patients with pre-existing health conditions will also welcome the additional analysis on risk factors.”
Adding to the analysis, study lead author Anuradhaa Subramanian, who is a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, said: “We already know that certain modifiable traits - such as smoking and obesity - put people at increased risk of various diseases and conditions, including Long Covid. However, others such as biological sex and ethnicity also appear to be important. Women are for example more likely to experience autoimmune diseases. Seeing the increased likelihood of women having Long Covid in our study increases our interest in investigating whether autoimmunity or other causes may explain the increased risk in women."
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