Nearly two-thirds of those with long Covid continue to struggle with symptoms, including a reduced capacity for exercise and cognitive function, in the second year of illness, a study has found. Researchers, including those from Ulm University, Germany, studied over 1,500 people aged 18-65 years who were identified as having post-Covid-19 syndrome, or long Covid, which refers to the symptoms persisting despite having recovered from acute infection. The participants had been previously surveyed for complaints and symptoms they were experiencing after the acute phase of infection had passed and were either diagnosed with long Covid or had not developed the condition.
The study, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, found that 68 per cent of the long Covid patients continued to struggle with symptoms in the second year -- most common ones being fatigue, neurocognitive disturbances, breathlessness and psychiatric ones, including anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Among these patients with continued illness, the authors also found "significant reductions in handgrip strength, maximal oxygen consumption, and ventilatory efficiency". 'Maximal oxygen consumption' refers to amounts of the gas used by a person during intense exercise, while 'ventilatory efficiency' indicates how well one's body exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide while performing physical activity.
Further, over a third of the 68 per cent also reported a reduced capacity for exercise, with a worsening of symptom.