According to a recent study, the range of symptoms associated with long Covid would not be 200 but only 12. Here are the problems that can arise
The announcement comes from the World Health Organization on the basis of a recent study that examined all the potential symptoms associated with long Covid or what can happen in some people after recovering from the Sars-CoV- coronavirus infection 2. Previously, in fact, the range of these problems amounted to 200 symptoms but according to the latest studies there would be only 12 specific conditions that belong to what is known as PASC (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection) or post -COVID-19.
The research was conducted by a highly diverse team of scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University Medical School, University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus; but also of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Stanford University and other institutions. The aim was to scientifically characterize long Covid by establishing which symptoms appear most frequently, also to study how to avoid or treat them. The team was coordinated by Professor Tanayott Thaweethai, professor of Biostatistics at Harvard University: the study involved 10,000 adults, 71% of whom were women, chosen from health centers and hospitals and with 8,646 of them receiving a diagnosis of Covid-19. 1,100 people instead were the uninfected ones, used for data comparison.
44 symptoms were detected, 37 of which were more frequent. All appeared at least one month after the most ‘intense’ phase of the pathology had passed. The researchers therefore assigned a score, narrowing the range of symptoms to only 12 symptoms considered more consistent with long Covid. It concerns loss or alteration of smell and taste, the score of which was 8, continuing with post-exertional malaise (7) and chronic cough (4); still with brain fog (3); thirst (3); palpitations (2); chest pain (2); fatigue (1); changes in sexual desire and ability (1); dizziness (1); gastrointestinal problems (1); abnormal movements (1); hair loss (0).