A new study that includes studies from the University of Arizona identifies 12 of the most common symptoms of long COVID, a physical condition that has affected up to one-third of American adults who have had COVID-19.
The study, published Thursday in the eminent Journal of the American Medical Association, identifies 12 symptoms that most distinguish those with prolonged COVID from those without. The study also establishes a scoring formula based on symptoms.
“This is the first step in defining, in coming up with a definition of long COVID studies that you can really put into practice,” said Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, a professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and co-author of the study. I can actually survey other people, ask them to check the boxes, and then I can make a problem system. We do this for many medical conditions. . . We have a similar score for patients who deserve to be treated in the hospital or if we deserve to send them home. “
Long COVID refers to symptoms that are new or have worsened, especially at least 4 weeks after a COVID-19 infection. Prolonged COVID is a primary fear for the healthcare formula, as it can affect various tissues and organs of the body and save other people from running or participating in normal daily activities.
In addition to the University of Arizona, several fitness care organizations participated in the study, adding Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. . In Boston.
The researchers studied nearly 10,000 Americans, added about 750 Arizonans from across the state, and the other people they studied included those with and without long COVID, Parthasarathy said.
The top 12 non-unusual COVID-19 symptoms they knew were: post-exercise malaise; fatigue; brain fog; seasickness; gastrointestinal symptoms; Heart palpitations; disorders with sexual preference or ability; loss of smell or taste; thirst; chronic chest pain from cough; and movements.
In long-term COVID patients, it turns out there’s something that comes down to the nerve formula that controls muscles, which is how movements can occur. It’s also why some long-term COVID patients have discomfort after exercise, Parthasarathy said.
“Post-exercise discomfort is when other people are absolutely exhausted after doing minimal activity. There is an aggravation of fatigue through minimal activity. These are other people who do minimal activity and then have to take a one-hour nap to finish. “
The scoring formula can help with long-term diagnoses, said Parthasarathy, co-principal investigator of the RECOVER study, which is an initiative of the National Institutes of Health to be more informed about the long-term effects of COVID-19. For example, loss of smell or taste is so strongly related to prolonged COVID that with this symptom alone a patient would have the diagnosis according to the style proposed in the study. Other symptoms such as dizziness and movements have decreasing scores.
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“Then you turn it all up and if they get to 8 or higher, you can say you have a long COVID,” he said.
Patients and researchers have known more than 200 symptoms related to long COVID, and JAMA researchers have known at least 30.
People with long-term COVID may suffer symptoms that aren’t on the 12-man list cited in the study, Parthasarathy said. Long-term COVID can have corollary symptoms, such as dry mouth, weakness, headaches, tremors, muscle and abdominal pain, fever, sweating, chills and trouble sleeping, the researchers found.
“It’s a smart start so we can use it as a basis for long-term studies to identify what are the things that cause a long COVID, what are the things that can treat it,” Parthasarathy said. Refine and refine this definition of clinical diagnostic tests and study tools. These additional paints will help us better understand why a person develops prolonged COVID and how we can best treat it. “
Parthasarathy noted that as of last summer, Arizonans were suffering from long-term COVID symptoms at a rate about 3 percentage points higher than the national average, most likely in part due to below-average use of the COVID-19 vaccine. Other unvaccinated people are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, and other people with severe COVID-19 are more likely to get COVID-19 long-term, he said.
“People who are not vaccinated are more likely to get a long COVID than a vaccinated user who ends up having an advanced infection,” Parthasarathy said. “This is exactly what the study shows. In the pre-omicron era and in the omicron era, we found that other vaccinated people are less likely to have a prolonged COVID, while other unvaccinated people are more likely to have a prolonged COVID. “
Some other people who have had long COVID no longer report symptoms, but the prevalence of the disease in other people who lately have symptoms indicates that long COVID is almost as common as diabetes or asthma. In July 2022, symptoms of long COVID affected between 6% and 7% of U. S. adults. About 9. 5 percent of Arizona adults have come to the U. S. and about 9. 5 percent of Arizona adults, Parthasarathy said, contributing insights from a survey conducted through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last summer.
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Researchers would like to use their locations to look for biomarkers of long COVID. Researchers would like to expand blood tests and find treatments that work for others with long COVID, and developing the diagnostic tool is the first step, Parthasarathy said.
“There are other people who were given a score of 30. They had all the symptoms,” he said. Not only does it see who has a long COVID, but it also tells you who carries the burden of a long COVID. “
Contact journalist Stephanie Innes at Stephanie. Innes@gannett. com or 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes.