Coronavirus: 50% of patients with mild COVID experience symptoms 6 months after infection, claims study

Mild COVID can lead to symptoms 6 months after infection

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, long COVID and/or post-COVID syndrome has become a common area of concern. While the increase in the number of long haulers in severe COVID-patients was already known, a recent study has claimed that 50% of COVID patients with mild and moderate symptoms also go on to experience medical complications 6 months after infection.

Long COVID in patients with mild, moderate symptoms

Previously a Lancet study had reported that over 75% of people suffering with the novel coronavirus face symptoms that arise 6 months after recovery. 63% of the individuals who took part in the experiment most commonly reported symptoms of fatigue and muscle ache, accompanied by anxiety, depression, pain, and sleep difficulties.

While the majority of the cases of long COVID was prevalent in patients suffering with severe COVID-19 infections, a recent study published this month in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection states that half of the patients with mild, moderate COVID symptoms experience complications after 6 months.

According to study

The study observed 103 people over the age of 18 who had coronavirus between April and October 2020. The volunteers involved in the experiment suffered with mild and moderate symptoms, indicating that while they were not asymptomatic, they weren't hospitalised either.

The participating group were questioned four times during the research.

Six months following the start of the study, 46% had at least one lingering symptom. The most common symptoms included fatigue (22%), loss or change in the sense of smell and taste (15%) or difficulty in breathing (8%). As per reports, 44% of people had initially experienced headache, 41% fever, 39% muscle aches and 38% dry cough.

The final report listed 14 symptoms, 12 of which were already recorded as common symptoms of COVID by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The most common symptom reported was loss of appetite, as per the study.

According to the study, “Long COVID is emerging as a phenomenon where patients have long-term unresolved symptoms." “These could be prolonged symptoms of COVID-19, or a post-COVID syndrome for which dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system has been proposed, although further research is needed to establish the causes," the study added.

Duration of long COVID symptoms

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), one in five coronavirus patients exhibit symptoms "for a period of five weeks or longer".

The same report stated that one in every 10 COVID patients showed symptoms for upto 12 weeks and longer.

Most common symptoms of long COVID

While it is important to understand the time frame that it takes for COVID-19 to become a long COVID scenario, it is also important for each and everyone of us to identify the signs of long COVID, so as to treat it efficiently. That said, here are some of the most common symptoms you can experience even after having recovered from the illness.

- Brain fog

- Headache

- Fatigue

- Joint pain

- Chest pain

Risk of long-term COVID

In some cases, people may also develop complications that may affect their organs. These symptoms are less common but have been reported. The symptoms may include:

Anxiety, memory and concentration difficulties

Inflammation of the heart muscle

Abnormal lung function

Problems with smell and taste

Severe kidney injury

Rash and hair loss

Sleep issues

Mood swings

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Some COVID-19 patients experience persistent chronic fatigue six months after infection, finds study

A team of scientists from Germany has recently revealed that almost 50% of patients present with moderate to severe chronic fatigue syndrome six months after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. 

Background

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 is associated with a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from mild fever and cough to severe pulmonary and cardiovascular complications. Although almost 80% of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients remain asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, a growing pool of evidence indicates that a significant fraction of COVID-19 patients present with persistent symptoms referred to as ‘long COVID’. Most commonly reported symptoms of long COVID are fatigue, cognitive impairment, and post-exertional malaise (worsening of symptoms after minor physical or mental exertion).

In the current study, the scientists have investigated mild to moderate COVID-19 patients who present with persistent fatigue and other related symptoms. They have also investigated whether these patients meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), which is a neurological disease characterized by severe mental and physical fatigue, chronic pain, and sleep disorder.

Study design

A total of 42 COVID-19 patients presented with moderate to severe intensity chronic fatigue, exertion intolerance, cognitive dysfunction, and pain six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection were investigated in the study. All participants were diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19. A team of experienced clinical immunologists, rheumatologists, neurologists, and cardiologists was involved for an accurate diagnosis of ME/CFS in these patients based on the Canadian Consensus Criteria. The intensity and duration of post-exertional malaise (symptoms lasting for more than 14 hours) was considered to be the main diagnostic criterion for ME/CCFS.

Important observations

Of all enrolled patients, 32 had mild COVID-19 and 10 had moderate COVID-19 because of pneumonia. The numbers of male and female patients were 29 and 13, respectively, and the average age of the patients was 36 years (age range: 22 – 62 years).

Of 42 enrolled patients, 19 met the diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS and were found to have severe fatigue and functional impairment, severe stress intolerance, and hypersensitivity to noise, light, and temperature. The scientists categorized these patients as Chronic COVID-19 Syndrome/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CCS/CFS). The rest of the patients who were not diagnosed with ME/CFS mainly because of the relatively shorter duration of post-exertional malaise (2 – 10 hours) were referred to as CCS. The patients with ME/CFS showed significantly reduced hand grip strength than those without ME/CFS.

After 6 months of SARS-CoV-2 infection, all participants were found to have fatigue with different intensities. The most commonly observed symptoms were post-exertional malaise, cognitive impairment, and muscle pain. Although patients without ME/CFS exhibited less severe symptoms, most of them had severely impaired daily life activities. The majority of enrolled patients (n=28) were either unable to work or required a reduced work schedule because of post- Covid-19 symptoms.

In the study cohort, autonomic dysfunction was observed in most of the patients, with no significant difference in symptom intensity between patients with and without ME/CFS. The increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure at standing position was significantly lower in patients with ME/CFS than those without it. Among patients with ME/CFS, four were diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome.         

Regarding biochemical parameters, only two patients in the entire study cohort showed mildly elevated C-reactive protein levels, indicating the absence of robust inflammatory response. Almost 50% of patients showed increased levels of interleukin 8 (IL-8), which is a clinical feature of severe COVID-19 patients. Moreover, a low level of mannose-binding lectin was observed in 22% of patients, indicating impaired immune functioning. An indication of autoimmune disorder was noticed in the study cohort as elevated levels of antinuclear antibody were found in 3 ME/CFS patients and 6 non-ME/CFS patients.

Study significance

The study reveals that even mildly affected COVID-19 patients can develop a severe chronic syndrome characterized by moderate to severe fatigue and exertion intolerance. Because most of the post-COVID symptoms considered in this study did not differ significantly between patients with and without ME/CFS, the scientists suggest that chronic COVID-19 syndrome is a more appropriate terminology than ME/CFS in defining long-term symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Exercising at home has positive effect on Parkinson's patients

Patients in the initial stages of Parkinson's disease shall workout regularly for 6 months at home to get positive effect comparable to that of conventional Parkinson's medication.

The study tested an innovative solution for this challenge.

The patients were divided into 2 groups. Both groups had a motivational app at their disposal, which offered the participants rewards for exercising.

The control group only performed stretching exercises, while the active intervention group was instructed to exercise for 30-45 minutes on a stationary bicycle at home, at least 3 times a week.

The active group's exercise bikes were also equipped with motivating games, making the program more entertaining and challenging for the participants.

For e.g., the participants could race against their own performance- a ' ghost rider', or against a group of other cyclists. The system adjusted the difficulty of the game to the patient's heartbeat, making the challenge just right.

The challenges also became more difficult as the participants got fitter.

Thanks to these  motivating elements, the participants faithfully complied with the cycling exercise regime 3 times a week for 6 months.

After the study, cycling patients had significantly better cardiovascular fitness, which has many obvious advantages.

The motor disability of the cycling group was also significantly better: according to the gold standard ( the MDS-UPDRS score), the cycling group scored an average 4.2 points lower than the control group.

This is a rather large effect, comparable to that of several conventional Parkinson's drugs.

We were pleasantly surprised that people with Parkinson's disease were able to adhere to their exercise regimes so well. The beneficial effect on their motor disability was also large enough to be clinically relevant. As such, exercise is a very useful addition to the medication, said a candidate.

The fact that this cycling exercise can take place entirely at home is a major advantage for patients, as this enhances the feasibility of the treatment.

This study is very important. We can now start researching whether much more long-term cycling can also slow the disease progression. Also, this new ' exergaming' approach that we've developed is very suitable to achieve long-term improvements in exercise behaviour for patients with a range of other disorders that could also benefit from regular exercise, said the principal investigator.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   
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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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Breastfeeding for more than 6 months leads to smaller waist circumference

Turns out, breastfeeding for more than six months is independently associated with smaller waist circumference in the decade after delivery among women. Pregnancy contributes to an accumulation of abdominal adiposity, which is an indicator of cardiometabolic dysfunction in later life.

During a recent study, the researchers assessed the relationship between waist circumference measured at follow-up and self-reported history of breastfeeding duration. Propensity score approaches were incorporated into the study to account for systematic differences between women who did and did not breastfeed.

The novel use of propensity score methods enabled the researchers to minimise the possibility of bias in the likelihood of breastfeeding due to overall healthier lifestyles. Additional analyses that consider the lifetime duration of breastfeeding is proposed in order to advance understanding of the cumulative effect of breastfeeding on maternal central adiposity. 

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