Health Conditions Of Long COVID Patients Worse Than Stage-4 Lung Cancer Patients: Study

New Delhi: Patients who were infected from a long COVID-19 infection are witnessing a drastic change in their health, which is more dangerous than a fatal illness such as stage-4 lung cancer, anaemia, or stroke, according to a new study.

The research, published in BMJ Open and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has examined the impact of long COVID on the lives of over 3,750 patients who were referred to a long COVID clinic. Patients were asked questions related to changes their bodies are experiencing after recovery from COVID. The volunteers used a digital app in which they shared details on fatigue level, depression, anxiety, quality of life, brain fogging, etc.

The researchers discovered that scores of long-term COVID patients were reeling from high levels of fatigue. The fatigue levels were worse or comparable to persons with cancer-related anaemia or severe kidney impairment. They also had lower health-related quality of life scores than those with Stage-4 lung cancer, Mint reported.

Overall, the team found that the impact of long COVID on the daily activities of patients was worse than that of stroke patients and was comparable to that of patients with Parkinson’s disease.

“Our results have found that long Covid can have a devastating effect on the lives of patients – with fatigue having the biggest impact on everything from social activities to work, chores, and maintaining close relationships,” Dr Henry Goodfellow, who co-led the study alongside the late Professor Elizabeth Murray (both UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health), said.