Long COVID presents ongoing health challenges, but vaccination can help.
A recent study published in The Lancet examined how long COVID affects mental and physical health. It compared patients who struggled with long COVID to those who either recovered fully or never had COVID-19.
Understanding Long COVID
Long COVID occurs when symptoms last more than four weeks after the initial COVID-19 infection. It can result in various symptoms, affecting about 11% of the over 775 million people worldwide who have been diagnosed with the virus. Many people experience changes in their symptoms over time.
Study Overview
This study was part of the INSPIRE project, involving 3,663 participants whose data were collected from July 2020 to February 2024. The average age of participants was 40 years, with a majority being female and of diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Results showed that 71% did not have long COVID, while 27% still faced symptoms. The average time with long COVID was around two years. Interestingly, only 15.4% of those currently dealing with long COVID had been vaccinated before their symptoms started, but 95% of all participants received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Current Long COVID Effects
Participants without a history of long COVID scored better on physical and mental health assessments. Those with long COVID reported higher levels of stress and loneliness and experienced more fatigue. Additionally, they were less physically active and had poorer nutrition compared to those who never had COVID-19.
Recovering from Long COVID
Even after recovering, those who had long COVID still had lower health scores than individuals who had never experienced it. Their nutrition and activity levels improved, but not significantly enough to close the gap in health outcomes.
Impact of Vaccination
The study found that vaccination correlated with better health scores, offering benefits even to those who had long COVID. Vaccinated individuals showed improved mental and physical health metrics, especially those who received more doses. This suggests that vaccination can provide important long-term protection against the effects of long COVID.
Key Takeaways
Despite efforts, less than 2% of those with long COVID reported complete recovery three years post-infection. The study highlights how long COVID can have lasting negative impacts, stressing the need for targeted support and social opportunities to aid physical and mental well-being.
In summary, while long COVID poses significant challenges, vaccination appears to help in mitigating some of these effects, encouraging a stronger focus on vaccination as a protective measure.
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Coronavirus Disease COVID-19, covid-19, Coronavirus, Evolution, Fatigue, Frequency, Mental Health, Nutrition, Pathogen, Physical Activity, Respiratory, SARS, SARS-CoV-2, Severe Acute Respiratory, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Stress, Syndrome, Vaccine
