Amid COVID-19 pandemic that continues to rise in the country rapidly, a health worker dressed in full PPE gears uses Hydra, a contact tracing app, to interview Saeed Mohammad, 3t9, while he receives oxygen at the Sahatmand Zindagi Centre in Shiri Jinnah neighbourhood in Karachi, the main port city of Pakistan. Saeed Mohammad has been under TB treatment and recently contracted COVID-19,
A new study on COVID-19 patients released earlier this week found that 37 percent of survivors experienced at least one symptom for three to six months.
The study conducted by the University of Oxford and the National Institute for Health Research-Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre determined that prolonged COVID symptoms were common among people who were hospitalized and more frequent among female patients.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 270,000 recovered patients to identify the ‘nine core’ long-term symptoms, including anxiety and depression, abnormal breathing, abdominal symptoms, pain, and fatigue.
Breathing and cognitive problems were common among elderly people while younger people, especially women, reported frequent headaches, abdominal symptoms, and anxiety.
Researchers said that the study ‘exemplifies’ how many survivors could be experiencing prolonged symptoms and called for an investigation.
“Research of different kinds is urgently needed to understand why not everyone recovers rapidly and fully from COVID-19,” Oxford psychiatry professor, Paul Harrison, said.
“We need to identify the mechanisms underlying the diverse symptoms that can affect survivors. This information will be essential if the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 are to be prevented or treated effectively,” he added.