The data collected by the English application “COVID Symptom Study” has been the subject of a new study. The researchers analyzed them to try to identify clinical signs and risk factors for the development of long form Covid-19.
Symptoms after recovery
Some patients complain of experiencing symptoms of Covid-19, sometimes even up to 8 weeks after recovering. The long-term effects of this new pathology are still poorly understood by healthcare professionals, given that it is recent. This is the reason why AP-HP launched the ComPaRe platform, which includes a community of patients for research. A large study has started on the long-term consequences of Covid-19, also called “Covid long”. Their objectives are to identify with precision the different manifestations of the “Covid long”And understand the repercussions (social, professional or moral) on the lives of patients. The information collected is then used to “develop and validate a tool that can be used both in practice and in research”. In addition, in England, researchers from King’s College London also conducted a study to identify the first clinical signs that would suggest a long form of the disease. It was carried out on more than 4,000 patients who were asked to record their symptoms, via the COVID symptom Study app. The study is still awaiting proofreading by its peers, but has already given some elements. Among them, almost 600 (13.3%) patients said they did not feel well after 28 days and almost 190 (4.5%) after 8 weeks.
Age to consider
Scientists have identified that age is a predominant factor in people with long form Covid-19. In fact, more than 9% among 18-49 year olds were affected while this rate is over 20% among people aged 70 or over. The clinical signs reported by these people were related to heart rhythm disturbances (tachycardia, palpitations), difficulty concentrating or remembering, tinnitus and earache, and numbness. Indeed, people with a long form of Covid were “more likely to report relapses (16.0%)“, compared to people with” short Covid “(8.4%).
Who would be most at risk?
In their study, the researchers find that young women are more exposed. Also, overweight and other chronic diseases, such as asthma, could promote the occurrence of these persistent symptoms, justifying moreover “further investigation”. In general, the risk of the long form of Covid increases if the infected person declares at least five symptoms, during the first week of the disease. The characteristic signs observed were fatigue, headache, dyspnea (difficulty in breathing), body aches and anosmia (loss of smell). Research is continuing, the aim being to prevent long forms of Covid-19 and thus intervene early with vulnerable people.
