New York: A study found that fatigue and headache were the most common symptoms experienced by individuals after an average of four months of Covid-19 infection. The study, published in the journal ‘Science Direct’, reported preliminary findings from 200 patients enrolled an average of 125 days after testing positive for the Covid virus.Also Read – Amid surge in Covid cases, Center issues guidelines, asks 7 states to follow five-pronged strategy
Eighty percent of all participants reported neurological symptoms with fatigue being the most common symptom, 68.5 percent, followed by headache at 66.5 percent. Fatigue appears to be a major factor in people with Covid-19, likely because levels of inflammation, the body’s natural response to infection, remain elevated in some individuals, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia in the US explained. Also Read – India’s Covid graph sees upward trend: Data comparison shows rise in coronavirus cases, rising deaths
Elizabeth Rutkowski, a neurologist at the college, said the findings suggest that while antibodies to the virus may wear off on their own, persistent inflammation contributes to some symptoms, such as fatigue. She noted that patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, both considered autoimmune conditions, also result in high levels of inflammation, including fatigue as a top symptom. Also Read – Noida on alert after sudden surge in Covid cases; The number of active cases in UP has crossed 4,000 key points
“They get body fatigue where they’re short of breath, they go to do the dishes and they get palpitations, they have to sit down right away and they get muscle pain like they just ran a mile or so,” Rutkowski said. is,” Rutkowski said. “There’s also probably some degree of neurologic fatigue because patients also have brain fog, they say it hurts to think, to read even one email, and their brain goes blank,” she added.
Prolonged Covid symptoms: Important points to know
- The study found muscle aches, cough, changes in smell and taste, fever, chills and nasal congestion among a long list of symptoms.
- Just over half reported changes in smell (54.5 percent) and taste (54 percent), and nearly half of participants (47 percent) met criteria for mild cognitive impairment, with 30 percent showing impaired vocabulary and 32 percent impaired. working memory.
- Twenty-one percent reported confusion, and the most common medical condition reported by participants in addition to a bout with Covid was hypertension.
- “Our results support growing evidence that there are chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms after Covid-19 infection,” said Rutkowski.
- Problems like these, as well as mild cognitive impairment and impaired vocabulary, may reflect the long-term isolation Covid-19 has produced for many individuals, Rutkowski said.
- Neuropsychiatric symptoms are observed in the acute phase of infection, but precise characterization of how symptoms develop over time is needed, the researchers said.
