Are you one of the millions of people worldwide struggling with long-term symptoms after a SARS-CoV-2 infection? Known as long COVID, this phenomenon has left researchers scratching their heads. What causes it? Who gets it? And most importantly, what is it?
Long COVID patients have reported over 200 symptoms, ranging from loss of smell to tremors. Researchers believe that long COVID may be an umbrella term for a collection of post-COVID conditions with different causes, including autoimmunity, immune system dysregulation, organ injury, viral persistence, and intestinal microbiome imbalances.
But there’s hope. A recent study published in JAMA has identified a weighted list of 12 core symptoms of long COVID. While it’s not a final definition, it’s a start. The list could help direct further research, identify different subtypes of long COVID, and develop diagnostic tools.
The study surveyed symptoms and conditions among people with a past SARS-CoV-2 infection and those without. Researchers assigned each symptom a score that represented the odds of it being related to COVID-19 and came up with a core list of 12 symptoms. The scores for each symptom ranged from 1 to 8, and a score of 12 was a reasonable cutoff for determining if someone had long COVID.
Here are the 12 symptoms and their scores: loss of smell or taste (8), post-exertional malaise (7), chronic cough (4), brain fog (3), thirst (3), palpitations (2), chest pain (2), fatigue (1), changes in sexual desire or capacity (1), dizziness (1), gastrointestinal symptoms (1), and abnormal movements (1).
While research on long COVID is still in its infancy, this study is a hopeful step towards understanding this debilitating condition.
A new multicenter study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, has recently identified a core list of 12 specific symptoms for long-COVID. The study is the first large-scale effort to characterize and identify symptoms that persist in individuals months after they have been infected with the virus.
In the study, researchers collected self-reported information from over 4,000 people across six countries in Europe and North America who were infected with the virus. Of the participants, 52% reported having at least one extra symptom of long-COVID after 90 days or longer.
The team of researchers was able to identify 12 common symptoms reported by more than 10% of the participants. These symptoms included fatigue, muscle aches, chest pain, difficulty breathing, headaches, difficulty concentrating, ongoing coughing, depression, anxiety, and diarrhea. Other symptoms included nausea, loss of appetite, and excessive sweating.
The study also found that the severity of symptoms was associated with the severity of initial infection, leading the researchers to conclude that the initial infection can have long-term implications.
The researchers hope their findings will provide an important framework for healthcare professionals to better diagnose and understand long-COVID, as well as to advise those who may be suffering from long-term symptoms. Additional research is needed to further understand the long-term effects of the virus.
In conclusion, the study provides valuable insight to healthcare professionals, as it identifies 12 likely symptoms of long-COVID. Further research is needed to understand the long-term implications of the virus, and to provide tailored advice to those suffering from long-COVID symptoms.
