To date, more than two million people worldwide have died from COVID-19. And while death is a very real and frightening prospect, patients are increasingly worried about a cruel alternative: a partial recovery with numerous symptoms, also known as ‘long COVID’.
Although most coronavirus symptoms tend to subside within a few weeks, some patients find that certain symptoms persist in the long term, even after being tested negative for the virus. One study published in the medical journal The Lancet identified five symptoms along which COVID patients struggle the most.
And there is reason to take note. In addition to naming the symptoms, the researchers also came to the surprising conclusion that persistent symptoms are more common than you might think: 76 percent of the patients in the study reported at least one persistent symptom six months after their first symptoms.
With 1,733 subjects and a study period of six months, the researchers believe they are the largest cohort study with the longest follow-up period to date. Using patient data from the PubMed medical database as well as follow-up telephone interviews led by trained medical staff, the team compiled their list of the five best symptoms most commonly found in long COVID. Read on to learn more about these five narrow symptoms, and for more signs of coronavirus, see If this part of your body hurts, you may have COVID.
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Fatigue was at the top of the research list of prolonged COVID symptoms, reflecting the findings of the CDC. According to the researchers, 63 percent of the subjects reported fatigue or muscle weakness during their follow-up calls, six months after their first symptom. And for more information on how fatigue can affect you after recovering from COVID, go to If you have this subtle symptom, you may have already had COVID.
Muscle pain, also known as myalgia, is another common symptom of long COVID. One report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that about 15 percent of patients with long haul muscle experience muscle pain.
According to a study published in the medical journal Clinical Rheumatism, these muscle aches sometimes include severe back pain in COVID cases that develop into pneumonia. “Myalgia and fatigue in patients with COVID-19 may last longer than other viral infections and may not respond to conventional painkillers,” the study authors wrote.
One study published in the journal Sleep Medicine recently noted that ‘very clinically significant insomnia’ has occurred since the onset of the pandemic – even among the healthy. It is therefore no surprise that the researchers behind the original study in The Lancet found that more than a quarter of their long COVID patients suffered from this symptom during their follow-up call.
According to a Q&A with Rachel Manber, MD, the director of the Stanford Sleep Health and Insomnia Program (SHIP), can affect several symptoms associated with severe or prolonged COVID cases. She explains that “depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, night-time panic attacks and physical conditions that cause acute or chronic pain” can contribute to chronic sleep disorders. And for more information on surprising COVID symptoms, this strange symptom is going to be the only sign that you have COVID, study says.
Anxiety is another condition after COVID that is commonly reported after other symptoms have subsided. In fact, the researchers behind the study in The Lancet determined that 23 percent of the subjects still experienced anxiety and depression six months after their first symptom.
Of course, many experts expect that even those who have not contracted the coronavirus may suffer from anxiety in the long run as a result of the pandemic. Steven Taylor, PhD, author of The psychology of pandemics, recently told the BBC that “for an unhappy minority of people, maybe 10 to 15 per cent, life will not be normal” due to the stress on mental health.
Similarly, depression was found to be commonly reported after other COVID symptoms faded. Experts believe that depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder and other mental health problems are the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to a study published in the journal Brain, behavior and immunity, it has been shown in similar outbreaks, including those of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS). In each of these cases, patients who recovered were found to have an increased amount of mood disorders, psychosis, and suicide rates one year later. And for more information on long COVID, look at the “really disturbing” long COVID symptom that doctors want you to prepare for.