Long Covid affects obese people over longer periods, study finds

A new study on Long Covid has found that two-thirds of people who contracted Covid-19 are still suffering from symptoms a year later – and those who are heavier are likely to struggle longer with the lasting effects

How long it takes to recover from Covid-19 infection varies for different people – a new study has found that some people suffer from symptoms much longer than others.

The research, conducted by the University of Leicester, found that only one in four hospitalized patients is treated Covid-19 have fully recovered after a year, others are still struggling with symptoms.

Christopher Brightling, who co-led the study, which was published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine Journal, said: “Without effective treatments, Long Covid could become a widespread new long-term disease.”

Here’s who is most likely to be affected Long covidso the study, as well common symptoms of condition.

What did the Long Covid study find?

The new Long Covid study by UK researchers found just 26% of people with hospitalizations were treated Coronavirus reported full recovery after five months and only 28.9% after a full year.

It was also found that women who were affected by the virus were 33% less likely to make a full recovery than men. Those who are obese and those who required mechanical ventilation were even more at risk of continuing to fight after the initial infection.

The study added that many people were still showing severe Long Covid symptoms a year after leaving hospital, including “reduced physical capacity and major impairments in health-related quality of life.”

An earlier version of this study also identified four groups, or clusters, of long-Covid symptom severity five months after infection.

Of these, 20% had very severe physical and mental impairment, 30% severe physical and mental impairment, 11% moderate physical impairment cognitive impairment and 39% mild physical mental health impairment.

According to the study’s Christopher Brightling, “there is an urgent need for healthcare services to support this large and rapidly growing patient population.”

He added that the study could also provide the basis for examining long Covid treatments to restore a patient’s “health-related quality of life”.

The results of the Long Covid research will also be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon, Portugal.

What are the most common symptoms of Long Covid?

Long Covid, in which people suffer symptoms for weeks or months after contracting Covid-19, has become a new long-term condition.

Some of the most common symptoms of Long Covid are shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain, trouble sleeping, weakness of the limbs, physical slowdown and impaired mental health.