June 19, 2023 – People with long COVID have worse levels of fatigue than individuals with certain kinds of cancer or people recovering from a stroke, in accordance with researchers in England.
The study defined long COVID as symptoms that last at the very least 12 weeks and include fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression and brain fog.
The Insights were published within the magazine earlier this month BMJ open. Researchers examined data from 3,754 people within the UK who were referred to dedicated COVID-19 clinics for treatment. Almost all people were between 18 and 65 years old, the typical age was 48 years; 71% were women.
As a part of their treatment, people used a digital health program and entered data right into a smartphone app. They reported usually about their symptoms, their quality of life and their performance with regard to work and socialization. Data from individuals who began using the app between November 2020 and March 2022 were included.
Half of the people within the study said they’d been unable to work for at the very least sooner or later within the last month, and one in five said they’d been unable to work in any respect. The researchers found a robust connection between fatigue and folks's ability to operate socially or go to work.
The Latest CDC estimate states that about 15% of adults within the U.S. have long-term COVID illness. The condition falls under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
“Long COVID is an invisible disease, and many people are dealing with significant changes in how they function,” said researcher William Henley, PhD, professor of medical statistics on the University of Exeter Medical School, in a opinion. “Shockingly, our research has shown that long COVID can leave people with worse fatigue and quality of life than some types of cancer, yet the support and understanding is not at the same level.”
Henley called for more research to seek out ways to support people still battling long COVID.