People who caught dengue and recovered are more likely to face long-term health complications about a year later compared to those who contracted COVID-19, according to the findings of a nationwide study led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore). Specifically, those who caught dengue have a 55 per cent higher risk of heart complications, such as irregular heartbeats, heart disease, and blood clots, compared with those who fell sick with COVID-19 and recovered. Based on tests and medical claim records of 11,707 residents in Singapore with dengue and 1,248,326 who had COVID-19 (Delta and Omicron variant) between July 2021 and October 2022, the study looked for newly arising health problems related to the heart, neurological and immune system that appeared 31 to 300 days after the infection.
The research team said that the circulation of dengue and COVID-19 in the study period provided a unique opportunity for comparison. The study, published in the Journal of Travel Medicine in July 2024, is the first to examine the long-term risk of multiple health complications following dengue and the first to contrast the post-recovery risk of dengue and COVID-19 patients. The study was carried out by researchers from NTU's Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine), Ministry of Health, Singapore, Singapore General Hospital, and National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore and the National Environment Agency.
Lead author of the study, Assistant Professor .