Estimates of the number of people in the U. S. U. S. states with persistent Covid-19 symptoms vary widely, but a new survey from the National Center for Health Statistics indicates the disease could have affected as many as 962,000 children and 17. 9 million adults.
In 2022, according to the agency, 1. 3% of young people and 6. 9% of adults had already had a prolonged Covid. However, 0. 5% of young people and 3. 4% of adults reported having a long Covid at the time of the survey.
The estimates are consistent with some surveys by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But they are lower, in some cases, than previous studies focused on long-term Covid. For example, the U. S. Census Household Survey. UU, conducted from June to December. In 2022, it was found that 31. 1% of all Americans had ever had a long Covid.
The U. S. Department of Health and Human Servicesestimates that up to 23 million people in the U. S. U. S. citizens have already had a prolonged Covid.
The National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the CDC, says the differences in knowledge can be attributed to differences between surveys, such as who won the questions related to the Covid length, how the questions were presented, the language used, and how the survey was conducted. is administered.
There are also differences in definitions. This specific report defines prolonged Covid as symptoms that last at least 3 months after a medical or positive diagnosis of Covid-19. But in August, for example, the CDC explained prolonged Covid as symptoms that last 4 weeks or more.
Data for the most recent study come from the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative household survey of the noninstitutionalized U. S. civilian population, conducted periodically throughout the year. In 2022 questions about Covid were added.
Most Americans had had Covid at the time of the new survey, according to data from the 2022 National Commercial Laboratory Seroprevalence Survey. In December, 91. 9% of children and 77. 5% of people over the age of 16 had antibodies indicating a past Covid infection. .
The demographics of those who reported having had a prolonged Covid in the new survey were more commonly consistent with previous research.
Long Covid is more likely among women, Hispanics, adults living in rural areas, and older adults ages 35 to 49. Asian adults were the least likely to have long Covid, as were other people whose circle of relatives generate 400% higher incomes. the federal poverty level. . .
In young people, long Covid is more likely in girls, 12- to 17-year-olds, and Hispanic youth. Young Asians were the least likely to experience prolonged Covid symptoms.
A prolonged Covid creates a greater burden of disability than central disease or cancer, a previous study has shown. Although the percentage of adults reporting a prolonged Covid has declined over time, the long-term symptoms can still be debilitating.
In response to the need for greater understanding and attention, last week the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services launched a response to the U. S. Department of Health. The U. S. government awarded the groundbreaking $45 million grant to expand care and encourage more productive practices for long-term Covid control. In July, the Biden administration announced the creation of the Office of Long Covid Research and Practice, as well as the publication of clinical trials.
Research like the new survey helps doctors know to what extent they need to control long Covid, said Dr. Brown. Amy Edwards, infectious disease expert who runs a long Covid clinic at UH Rainbow Babies Hospital in Cleveland. Until there is a biomarker test to definitively determine whether you stumble upon the disease, it will be difficult to accurately assess how many more people have it.
“I think it’s a smart attempt,” said Edwards, who isn’t interested in the new research. “This is consistent with the concept that it’s probably rarer in young people than in adults. “
However, one of the considerations of the survey is that not all respondents may know that they have had a long Covid. Some other people might associate it with old symptoms like a runny nose, he said. But in Edwards’ long consultation to the Covid clinic, young people arrive with other disorders such as neurocognitive adjustments and constant fatigue.
Edwards also sees patients who have old Covid symptoms that are prolonged, but only amplify them after having poor health with anything else, such as flu or strep.
“Our speculation is that Covid causes some kind of change, but it’s sophisticated enough for the patient to tolerate it until they’re under some kind of additional stress,” Edwards said. “We suspect it’s not the flu or the level that causes the old long-lasting symptoms of Covid. It’s the flu or strep that unmasks the damage caused by Covid. “
Whatever the number, Edwards said, he hopes other people won’t reject prolonged Covid if, at least on paper, a relatively small proportion of the country appears to have it. Some of his young patients have so little power that they can’t spend more time in school. If they do, they deserve to stop by and sleep instead of pursuing their past hobbies, such as betting on football or joining the chess team.
“Deactivating 1% of our pediatric patients is no small feat,” Edwards said.