One in Four Survivors of COVID-19 Have Symptoms at Six Months

Fatigue, shortness of breath, and depression are the most common long COVID-19 symptoms

FRIDAY, July 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) — One in four COVID-19 patients still report symptoms six months after diagnosis, according to a study published online July 12 in PLOS ONE.

Dominik Menges, M.D., from University of Zurich in Switzerland, and colleagues assessed the prevalence of fatigue, dyspnea, or depression at six to eight months after diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSâ€‘CoVâ€‘2) infection and characterized their health care utilization. Analysis included 431 adults from the general population with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between Feb. 27, 2020, and Aug. 5, 2020.

The researchers found that 89 percent of participants had symptoms at diagnosis and 19 percent were initially hospitalized. At six to eight months, 26 percent reported not having fully recovered, with persistent symptoms of fatigue (55 percent), at least grade 1 dyspnea (25 percent), and depression (26 percent). Four in 10 participants reported at least one general practitioner visit related to COVID-19 after acute illness, while one in 10 initially hospitalized individuals were rehospitalized. One-third of individuals who did not fully recover did not seek further care.

“With millions infected across the world, our findings emphasize the need for the timely planning of resources and patient-centered services for post-COVID-19 care,” the authors write.