People with Long Covid could suffer from a wider range of symptoms than previously thought, scientists studying the condition have found.
The complaints range from hair loss, to bowel problems and even organ damage. The study, conducted at Washington University in St Louis in the USA, found that long-term effects also included gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhoea and constipation.
The research is based on medical records of almost 12 million people, 154,000 of whom caught Covid during the pandemic between March 2020 and January 2021. The records were matched against around 6 million people who did not catch Coronavirus in the same time-span, and against the records of a similar number of people before the pandemic, reports WalesOnline.
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Other symptoms, such as chronic acid reflux, bloating, and stomach pain, stayed with Covid sufferers for up to a year after they first had the infection. Those who caught Covid suffered more gastrointestinal symptoms a year later than those unaffected by the virus, and the average pre-pandemic person, according to the findings.
Ziyad Al-Aly, an epidemiologist and senior author on the study, from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care system, said it was likely that the gastrointestinal route through the digestive system appeared to be a "reservoir" for Covid-19.
He told Sky News: "The virus can be destructive, even among those considered healthy or who have had mild infections." Symptoms tended to be around 36 per cent more likely among those more immediately affected by the disease, such as anyone taken to hospital with the coronavirus.
The study found that Covid made people 54 per cent more likely to develop signs of irritable bowel syndrome and related digestive symptoms such as constipation, bloating and diarrhoea. There was a 35 per cent more likelihood for sufferers to have had more severe acid reflux.
A study recently carried out in the UK by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies — SAGE — which provided scientific and technical advice to support government decision makers during emergencies — found the majority of Long Covid patients suffered organ damage even after a year of catching Covid.
People who contracted Covid have reported a range of symptoms since the pandemic, including depression, headaches, respiratory problems, hair loss, and changes in their ability to smell and taste. Similar research published earlier in the year found those with milder complaints during infection would likely see the longer-term effects diminish within a year.
The Washington University study, however, said there was an "urgent need to double down and accelerate our effort to develop strategies to prevent and treat the long-term health effects" of coronavirus. The results of the study were published in the Nature Communications journal.
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