One in 20 suffer long-term Covid effects, study finds

One in 20 people suffer long-term effects after Covid, a study has found.

The Long Covid in Scotland study, led by the University of Glasgow, found that effects were more likely to occur after severe infections requiring hospitalisation.

The research showed older women from deprived communities were most at risk.

The study, set up in May 2021, found those who were vaccinated before becoming unwell appeared to be protected from some long-term symptoms.

The most reported symptoms included breathlessness, chest pain, palpitations, and confusion or “brain fog”.

Symptoms could range from mild to moderate – but having long-term effects might not necessarily result in a Long Covid diagnosis.

Long Covid was more likely in those with pre-existing physical and mental health problems, such as a respiratory disease or depression.

Jayne Gemmell, 55, from Cairneyhill in Fife, contracted Covid in March 2020 and is still living with the effects. She already had ME and fibromyalgia but was able to work full-time.

Jayne said the day she fell ill with Covid she felt extremely tired, although she didn’t consider it significant.

“The second day I just felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest,” she said. “I just had this overwhelming fatigue and overwhelming discomfort and tightness and heaviness.

“I took some time off work expecting that I might need a few days or a week and actually never, ever went back to work.”

Shortly afterwards, Jayne became extremely unwell and was admitted to hospital.

She added: “I couldn’t really speak, I could only say one syllable and I was gasping for breath.”

Jayne says she has been left with worsened chronic fatigue and pain. Medics also believe she has developed asthma.

She said she was “very grateful” to the NHS and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland who have supported her rehabilitation.

The Glasgow University research found that 6% of people felt they had not recovered at all, while 42% reported feeling only partially recovered between six and 18 months following infection.

Jill Pell, professor of Public Health who led the study, said: “While most people recover quickly and completely after infection with Covid, some people develop a wide variety of long-term problems.

“Therefore, understanding Long Covid is essential to inform health and social care support.”

The CISS study found that those with asymptomatic infection had no long-term impact.

It used 33,281 people who had developed laboratory-confirmed Covid infections and 62,957 never-infected individuals from the general population.

Dr Andrew McAuley, consultant healthcare scientist at Public Health Scotland, said: “This study provides novel and important evidence on long-Covid in Scotland.

“We know that being fully vaccinatedcan reduce the likelihood of developing long-Covid and therefore we encourage those who are eligible to take the opportunity to enhance their protection by getting vaccinated.”