About 400 Million People Worldwide Have Had Long Covid, Researchers Say

mecfs@lemmy.world to World News@lemmy.world – 143 points –
About 400 Million People Worldwide Have Had Long Covid, Researchers Say
nytimes.com

The condition has put significant strain on patients and society — at a global economic cost of about $1 trillion a year, a new report estimates.

(Article is gift — Unpaywalled)

9

The authors cited studies suggesting that only 7 percent to 10 percent of long Covid patients fully recovered two years after developing long Covid. They added that “some manifestations of long Covid, including heart disease, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis and dysautonomia are chronic conditions that last a lifetime.”

There was that study a week or two ago that suggested every covid infection comes with about a 3.5% risk of long covid if you're immunized, and 7% if not. As a TTRPG player I can't help but equate ~5% to rolling a Nat 1 on a D20.

That comment was wrong. I replied to it.

They misquoted the paper.

It was 10-12% for vaccinated people and 10-30% for unvaccinated people (very broad range because unvaccinated people are less likely to particiapte in studies).

If you want to look it up its a Nature Review called Long Covid, Major Mechanisms

I have it, and it sucks. I hope the attention on it leads to new treatments, though I know that can take years. I also saw that Bernie proposed a bill to fund research and treatment but that will probably die in the House.

do you still test positive when you have it?

No, it's not due to the active virus but general dysregulation of the nervous system. It's likely related to inflammation that occurred during infection but there are more questions than answers at this point. NIH has a decent write-up on the symptoms, possible causes, and some of the avenues of research underway.

I couldn’t smell for almost 2 years. I got my smell back, strangely enough, a few weeks after my second covid infection.

No, I've seen this before. One whack to the head changes someone, but then another whack changes them back. Same principle.

Everyone with long covid just needs more covid to fix it.

::: spoiler New York Times - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report) Information for New York Times:

MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: High - Factual Reporting: High - United States of America
Wikipedia about this source
:::

::: spoiler Search topics on Ground.News https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/09/health/long-covid-world.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Bk4.dj5H.JkL88UOFAjNV&smid=url-share ::: Media Bias Fact Check | bot support