(HealthDay News) — Organ impairment persists in 59% of individuals one year after COVID-19, according to a study published online Feb. 14 in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
Andrea Dennis, PhD, from Perspectum in Oxford, England, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study to examine the prevalence of organ impairment in patients with long COVID at six and 12 months after initial symptoms. A total of 536 individuals completed baseline assessment at a median of six months post-COVID-19; 331 (62%) with organ impairment or incidental findings had follow-up.
The researchers found that participants had reduced symptom burden at follow-up, with a median of 10 and three symptoms at six and 12 months, respectively. At six and 12 months, extreme breathlessness (38 and 30%), cognitive dysfunction (48 and 38%), and poor health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L <0.7: 57 and 45%) were common; these symptoms were associated with female gender, younger age and single-organ impairment. Overall, 69 and 23% had single- and multi-organ impairment at baseline, respectively, which persisted in 59 and 27% at follow-up.
“Organ impairment in long COVID has implications for symptoms, quality of life and longer-term health, signaling the need for prevention and integrated care for long COVID patients,” a coauthor said in a statement.
Several authors are employees of Perspectum. One author disclosed financial ties to AstraZeneca.
