Coronavirus: 4 groups at the highest risk of long COVID, as per studies

Even with an uptick in vaccination numbers, there remain some problems unsolved.

Debilitating long COVID ailment is one, which is known to affect 1 in 5 individuals to have recovered from COVID-19.

ALSO READ: These COVID symptoms appearing in the first week can predict Long COVID risk

Long COVID is a worrisome phenomenon which can plague coronavirus patients weeks or months after battling the virus. Referenced as the post-acute sequelae or viral symptoms which can resemble COVID-19 symptoms, and impact the entire body. While the Delta variant and the magnitude of cases which unfurled around the world added caseloads, experts worry that the higher case volumes could also translate into more and more people falling prey to long COVID, and requiring help. As per research, nearly 5-10% of non-hospitalized patients, and nearly 80% of people who were hospitalized COVID patients. However, apart from the statistics, studies have found that there are significant markers which make some people more susceptible to developing long COVID:

For the study, researchers based out of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, USA studied the health and symptoms of over 366 people who had contracted COVID-19 between the months of April and December 2020, which was the time when COVID-19 first peaked, and newer variants were discovered too. The same set of patients were analyzed and asked about symptoms they had, two months after testing positive.

It was discovered that not only did 1/3rd of the patients report having 1-2 symptoms two months after testing negative, the most common lingering symptoms were facing difficulty in breathing, loss of smell , muscle aches and pains, fatigue. These symptoms were also more commonly reported by specific age groups, and people belonging to specific races:

While it has been previously seen that women seem to have a lower possible severity and mortality rate associated with COVID-19 illness, studies including the above-stated one have asserted that there's a higher reporting of long COVID symptoms amongst women who have battled coronavirus disease.

As per experts, while women are less likely to suffer from severe symptoms and also less likely a candidate for hospitalization, preconditions including stress, more attention to symptoms and longer recovery time can make women more susceptible to post-COVID symptoms. Symptoms like brain fog, fatigue , menstrual changes and body pain can be present.

Over a certain age, the immune system functioning can slow down and make it easier for germs and viruses to creep in. Slow rate of cell division, regeneration and age-related preconditions can make it harder for the body to naturally fight off infections, and increase the recovery timeline for diseases. This is also one of the reasons as to why higher severity of COVID-19 cases is recorded amongst those who are old and fragile.

The study also found that long COVID was more common amongst Black people, which is probably a reason how our genetic makeup differentiates disease outcome. A number of scientific studies have also ascertained that black people have a higher prevalence of conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, which can in many ways impact disease outcome.

Being immunocompromised marks a major threat to contracting COVID-19, but also makes it many times more likely for an individual to fall ill to long COVID. Scientific research has found that being immunocompromised, i.e., when the body doesn't mount a significant or efficient immune response can increase the risk of chronic infections, and have a harder time rooting out present contagion or evade symptoms.

While there’s a lot of ongoing research and discussion on the matter, the benefits of vaccination have also been seen to considerably lower down the risk of long COVID for those who do happen to have caught the infection, after being vaccinated (i.e. breakthrough infections). Research has shown that there’s only a very small percentile risk of post-COVID syndrome reported amongst patients.

Apart from that, it has also been seen that patients suffering from long COVID also seem to find help from getting vaccinated, to an extent. Getting jabbed can push across necessary antibodies and fight away lingering infection traces, and aid faster recovery.