For those hospitalised during their initial infection, the risk of severe conditions such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and even Alzheimer’s disease remained high across 7 different organ systems.
For hospitalised patients, long COVID resulted in about 90 DALYs per 1,000 people, a higher burden than heart disease or cancer, which cause approximately 50 DALYs per 1,000 people each.
Instead, its lingering effects can lead to new health problems years later.
"People are developing new-onset disease as a result of an infection they had three years ago," says Al-Aly.
This points out the importance of long-term follow-up studies to fully understand the virus's extended impact on health.
What are the lingering risks of long Covid
What do findings say?
What is Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)?
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A level of information has been unlocked with the new research indicating that the impact of the Covid-19 virus goes well beyond the initial infection, demonstrating the long-lasting impact the pandemic has had on world health . According to an investigation that was published in Nature Medicine, people can still have serious health problems three years after contracting Covid-19.Researchers at Washington University in St.Louis, led by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, have uncovered data showing that patients who were hospitalised with Covid-19 remain at a significantly increased risk of death and other severe health complications three years post-infection. This study, the largest of its kind, analysed over 130,000 patients and found that long Covid continues to affect various organ systems , challenging the idea that the virus's impact is short-lived.The study's findings are a mix of concerning and reassuring news. For those hospitalised during their initial infection, the risk of severe conditions such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, and even Alzheimer’s disease remained high across 7 different organ systems. These patients showed a 34% increased health risk three years later compared to those who never had Covid-19.Even among those with mild initial cases, long-term Covid's effects were still significant, primarily impacting the neurological, gastrointestinal (GI), and pulmonary systems. These non-hospitalised patients experienced a 5% increased risk of long-term health problems, translating to 41 additional health issues per 1,000 people three years post-infection.The study also measured the burden of long Covid in terms of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), a metric representing years lost to poor health or premature death. For hospitalised patients, long COVID resulted in about 90 DALYs per 1,000 people, a higher burden than heart disease or cancer, which cause approximately 50 DALYs per 1,000 people each. Non-hospitalised patients faced around 10 DALYs per 1,000 people, highlighting the significant yet lesser impact compared to their hospitalised counterparts.Dr Al-Aly's research highlights that COVID-19 is not a self-contained virus that ceases to affect individuals after the acute phase. Instead, its lingering effects can lead to new health problems years later. "People are developing new-onset disease as a result of an infection they had three years ago," says Al-Aly. This points out the importance of long-term follow-up studies to fully understand the virus's extended impact on health.
