- Severe long COVID fatigue may reduce quality of life more than stage 4 lung cancer, according to a new study.
- The findings show that long COVID may also be as challenging as other serious health conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease or Parkinson’s disease.
- The study also notes that more women than men reported experiencing negative, life changing impacts from long COVID.
- The researchers hope to highlight the seriousness of long COVID for physicians and other healthcare professionals who may have dismissed the severity of the condition.
A new study from the University College of London and the University of Exeter finds that among severe cases of long COVID, fatigue may be more debilitating than it is for some people with other life-altering diseases.
Study participants reported having worse fatigue than reported by people with stroke, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), end-stage renal disease, or cancer with anemia. They also had a lower health-related quality of life than reported by people with stage 4 lung cancer
The findings suggest that fatigue-driven functional impairment experienced by people with severe long COVID can be worse than what is experienced by people who have had a stroke and is roughly the same as for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
But not everyone with long COVID experiences such extreme symptoms.
The cases included in the study’s analysis documented the health and self-reported functional impairment and quality of life of individuals who attended National Health Service long COVID clinics in the United Kingdom. Thus, it primarily reflects the experiences of individuals whose symptoms were severe enough that they sought medical care for the condition.
Still, the research provides striking support for people with a condition that remains somewhat undefined and may be dismissed by physicians.
The results were recently published in BMJ Open.
Long COVID is a syndrome that occurs after an acute infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus…
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