More than three years after the arrival of Covid-19, the notion of long Covid is becoming more and more precise. As a reminder, we are talking about long covid to evoke the extended forms of the disease. Some people experience long-term symptoms, even after recovery.
When a person contracts a virus, the immune system starts up. Either it is effective and balanced and recovers once the virus has been neutralized, or the patient may suffer from a disorder that causes post viral symptoms. This is what happens in case of long Covid. The person no longer suffers from the coronavirus. However, the immune system continues to fight as if she were still sick.
” Some develop a variety of medium and long-term effects such as fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction (for example, confusion, forgetfulness or lack of concentration and alertness). Some people also report psychological effects related to post-COVID-19 illness “, specifies the World Health Organization (WHO).
It took time for the long Covid to be finally recognized as a pathology. The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) uses the term “prolonged symptoms following Covid-19” when the symptoms manifest themselves beyond 4 weeks after the presumed date of contamination and cannot be explained by another disease.
While it was difficult for many patients to have their suffering recognized, a new study published within the BMJ Open demonstrated that a long Covid could be comparable to some cancers in terms of fatigue. The researchers even estimate that the intensity of certain symptoms can be even stronger.
Long Covid can have effects comparable to those of advanced metastatic cancer
The study was conducted on 3,750 patients who were referred to a long Covid syndrome by researchers from UCL and the University of Exeter (UK).
They were asked to complete questionnaires about how long the virus affected them, its impact on their daily activities, levels of fatigue, depression, anxiety, shortness of breath, brain fog and their quality of life.
Researchers found that many patients with prolonged forms of Covid were still seriously ill and had fatigue scores worse or similar to those of people with cancer-related anemia or severe kidney disease. Their quality of life was judged to be inferior to that of people with advanced metastatic cancers, such as stage IV lung cancer.
The team of scientists also found that the impact of the long Covid on daily activities was greater than that of patients suffering from a stroke and was comparable to patients with Parkinson disease.
” Our results revealed that a long Covid can have a devastating effect on patients’ lives, with fatigue having the biggest impact on everything, ”reports Dr Henry Goodfellow, who co-led the study before adding that until about 17% of people who contract Covid-19 develop a long version. “However, the impact of the disease on the daily lives of patients is not fully understood. “, he laments.
