About half of the young adults who tested positive for Covid-19 experienced persistent symptoms for 6 months. This was revealed by a research work published in the scientific journal “Nature Medicine” on the topic of “Long Covid”, a term used by experts to define the set of physical, neurological and psychiatric symptoms found in some infected patients. The work was carried out by researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, who followed 312 patients aged between 16 and 30, of which 65 hospitalized, isolated at home and with mild Covid, in the course of the first wave of cases that occurred in the city located on the southwest coast of Norway. (COVID VACCINE: DATA AND GRAPHICS ON ADMINISTRATIONS IN ITALY, REGION BY REGION)
Persistent symptoms highlighted
deepening
Covid, the recommendations of pediatricians: “Vaccinate children”
“The main finding was that over 50% of young adults up to 30 years old, isolated at home, still experienced persistent symptoms six months after contracting the disease, in mild to moderate form,” explained the group coordinator. of scholars, Professor Nina Langeland, of the Department of Clinical Sciences of the Norwegian university. Among other things, in conducting their work, they compared the symptoms of the patients involved with those of other more serious ones after the resolution of the infection. It emerged, in fact, that more than half of the young people isolated at home, 52%, showed symptoms of various kinds for at least six months, from persistent loss of smell and taste to breathing problems, from concentration difficulties to memory problems. and a sense of chronic fatigue. Among the results found, the researchers were able to understand that, beyond the severity of the infection, 61% of all young patients monitored had a series of persistent symptoms six months after infection. Specifically, considering the patients isolated at home, 13% had persistent loss of smell and taste, another 13% cognitive problems, 11% of memory. The most worrying aspect, according to experts, however, was the persistent fatigue, a symptom that with Covid seems to manifest itself at even more intense levels.
The importance of vaccination
In non-hospitalized Covid patients, according to a statement published on the website of the Norwegian university, just 30% experienced chronic fatigue, considered the most common symptom. As for young people under the age of 16, most of them experienced fewer long-term symptoms than older boys. Professor Bjørn Blomberg, a lecturer in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bergen and first author of the article, explained, commenting on the study results, that “the cognitive symptoms of impaired memory and concentration difficulties are particularly worrying, especially for young people at school or university and underline the importance of vaccination to prevent the long-term health implications linked to Covid-19 ”.
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