COVID-19: This endangered are recovered people for consequential damage!

COVID-19: This endangered are recovered people for consequential damage!

A new study by the University of St. Louis, USA, shows alarming results on the aftermath of Covid-19 on the health of former patients. This analysis, which looks at the medical records of over 200,000 covid survivors, finds that the risk of further infections increases significantly. Compared to 600,000 people without Covid-19, an increase in infection risk is shown by 20 to 50 percent, depending on the severity of the covid disease.

long -term effects on the immune system

The researchers suspect that Covid-19 can leave long-lasting damage to the immune system. This assumption is supported by the possible permanent damage to the mucous membranes, which could arise from the viral infection. In order to understand the biological mechanisms behind this increased susceptibility, the need for further research was emphasized.

But not only immediate complications are important. Long-term consequences, which are often referred to as long covid, represent an increasing health problem. In various population-representative studies, a long covid prevalence between 5 % and 10 % is shown in people who are ill, as from rki . According to a multicenter analysis from 22 countries, the global frequency of Long Covid symptoms is 6.2 % after symptomatic infection.

long -term consequences and their prevalence

Especially in Germany, the frequency of a documented post-covid state was 8.7 % striking during the 2nd and 3rd pandemiewelle. A Scottish cohort study found that 6.6 % of the infected still had symptoms after six months. A Dutch study even points out that 12.7 % of adults infected persons trace symptoms to Covid-19.

The treatment of Long Covid was its peak during the 2nd quarter of 2022; However, a declining trend has been determined since then, possibly due to the growing immunity of the population and the current Sars-Cov 2 variants. Nevertheless, the high prevalence of Long Covid remains worrying, since long-term health consequences after a Covid 19 infection are more likely compared to influenza. A prevalence of 43.1 % for Long Covid.

The challenges in the exact recording and estimate of the Long Covid friction are great. Many studies have methodological heterogeneity, which leads to different results. Much of the patient's everyday function or quality of life is not sufficient, which makes it difficult to interpret the results.