Covid leaves at least one sequel in 65% of those infected in Brazil, says study

Covid-19 left at least one sequel in 65% of patients in Brazil. Loss of smell or taste was the most prevalent problem: about 30% of those infected with Sars-CoV-2 reported the problem.

The data is an alert that, even with the slowing of the pandemic, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic should last in patients for a long period of time and impact the Brazilian health system.

“Public health will be overwhelmed by this”, summarizes Lígia Kerr, epidemiologist, vice president of Abrasco (Brazilian Association of Collective Health) and professor at the UFC (Federal University of Ceará).

The conclusion on the number of sequelae per patients is from Covitel (Telephone Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in Pandemic Times), a study carried out by telephone call in all regions of Brazil. In total, around 9,000 participants were surveyed during the first quarter of 2022.

The research was carried out by the health organization Vital Strategies and by Ufpel (Federal University of Pelotas). The survey is also the result of a partnership with other entities, such as Abrasco.

During the interview, each participant could indicate more than one complication that arose after infection with Sars-CoV-2 – the virus that causes the disease.

The sequelae caused by Covid – also known as long Covid – are still researched by the medical and scientific community. A recent study listed the 62 most common symptoms for people who have the chronic complication.

However, questions remain about how the virus causes these conditions after the acute phase of Covid-19 and also how long they persist.

“As it is something new, we do not know what is forever and what is not”, says Luciana Sardinha, one of the researchers who led Covitel and technical advisor in epidemiology and public health at Vital Strategies. She says that the final figure of 65% patients with sequelae was a surprise.

Uncertainties about the duration of complications worry Sardinha because they can impact health systems. She explains that there is already an overload of care due to the procedures that were paralyzed during the peak moments of the pandemic. With the sequelae, other health problems arising from Covid-19 should persist in the country.

“We realized that it is very serious [o índice de sequelas no Brasil] and this needs to be looked at now that things are normalizing in relation to Covid”, he says.

A similar point is mentioned by Lígia Kerr, from Abrasco. She says it is important to make the population aware that, although there are vaccines, it is still necessary to take preventive measures against Sars-CoV-2 in order not to jeopardize the development of sequelae from the infection.

Kerr says that studies have already observed how reinfection with the virus causes greater chances for the emergence of long-term Covid. “It’s like an accumulation [de riscos para sequelas].”

As current vaccines do not have a high capacity to stop infection by the most recent variants of the pathogen, the adoption of other precautions, such as the use of a mask and hand hygiene, are recommended by her.

The epidemiologist also warns about how Covid-19 can worsen clinical conditions that patients already had before the viral infection, such as diabetes. “It’s not just the appearance [de novas complicações]but the worsening of previous conditions”, he says.

According to her, chronic diseases such as these that can be worsened by the coronavirus represent spending problems for the SUS.

“Chronic diseases have a high cost component,” he says.