Symptoms of Covid-19 can linger for up to six months, according to research published in the medical journal The Lancet on Friday. Some of the first people admitted to the hospital with the disease were looked at.
The study focused on 1,733 people hospitalized from Covid-19 in Wuhan, China – where the coronavirus was first detected – from January to May. Many were hospitalized before the disease even had a name.
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About three-quarters of the patients reported persistent symptoms six months after their initial diagnosis. Sixty-three percent said they still had fatigue or muscle weakness, 23 percent cited anxiety or depression, and 26 percent had trouble sleeping.
“Our analysis indicates that most patients continue to live with at least some of the effects of the virus after leaving the hospital, and emphasizes the need for care after discharge,” said Dr Bin Cao, an author of the study and Deputy Director of the Center for Respiratory Diseases at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, reads a statement.
This was an observational study, meaning that it is impossible to link these symptoms directly to the coronavirus. To show a true link, studies should compare the results of Covid-19 with those hospitalized with similar infections that can also cause pneumonia.
“I would like to see data on patients admitted with anything other than Covid-19 during that period,” said Dr. Hana El Sahly, an associate professor of molecular virology and microbiology and medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said. She was not involved in the new research.
“Being admitted with pneumonia can be a traumatic event for anyone,” El Sahly said, adding that it is not uncommon for patients to have persistent symptoms.
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The study also found that those with the most severe cases still had trouble breathing six months later. More than half who need a ventilator for their illness later experienced a condition that reduces the oxygen flow from the lungs into the bloodstream. And they struggled more to complete a test of walking endurance.
However, it is unclear whether the impaired lung function is due to the virus or is related to an underlying health condition. While the study participants were all admitted to the hospital, few were admitted to the intensive care unit, meaning that the findings may not apply to the sickest patients.
“Because Covid-19 is such a new disease, we are only beginning to understand some of its long-term effects on patients’ health,” Cao said. He added that the research could potentially highlight the need for increased care for Covid-19 patients even after they are discharged from the hospital.
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