Forty-three percent of those who took Covid-19 worldwide probably had or had long-term symptoms of the disease, according to a new US study. The World Health Organization estimates that there have been more than 250 million Covid-19 infections worldwide, which means that at least 100 million people are experiencing the effects of the so-called “long Covid-19” today or in the past.
Researchers at the University of Michigan, who did the pre-publication on medRxiv, according to Reuters, evaluated (meta-analysis and systematic review) 40 studies from 17 countries on patients who continue to have one or more Covid symptoms. 19 for more than a month after the initial diagnosis of their infection.
The rate of long-term Covid-19 was estimated at 57% of those who had to be hospitalized due to the coronavirus, ie in more than half of the patients. The rate of long-term symptoms – whether previously treated or not – was estimated at 49% for women and 37% for men, so the problem is more common in the former.
By continent, long Covid-19 rates were estimated at 49% in Asia, 44% in Europe and 30% in North America. The most common persistent symptom is fatigue (23%) followed by shortness of breath, joint pain and memory problems (each symptom by 13%).
The researchers pointed out that the more extensive the long Covid-19, the greater the pressure on the countries’ health systems.
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