Long Covid symptoms affects one in eight, study suggests

One in eight people who contract coronavirus develop at least one symptom of long Covid, a new study suggests

One in eight people who get coronavirus develop at least one symptom of long Covid, one of the most comprehensive studies on the condition to date suggested on Thursday.

With more than half a billion coronavirus cases recorded worldwide since the start of the pandemic, there has been rising concern about the lasting symptoms seen in people with long Covid.

A new study published in The Lancet journal asked more than 76,400 adults in the Netherlands to fill out an online questionnaire on 23 common long Covid symptoms.

During that period, more than 4,200 of them -- 5.5 percent -- reported catching Covid.

However nearly nine percent of a control group which did not have Covid reported a similar increase.

The research also recorded symptoms before and after Covid infection, allowing the researchers to further pinpoint exactly what was related to the virus.

- 'Major advance' -

"By looking at symptoms in an uninfected control group and in individuals both before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection, we were able to account for symptoms which may have been a result of non-infectious disease health aspects of the pandemic, such as stress caused by restrictions and uncertainty," she said.

Another study author, Judith Rosmalen, said "future research should include mental health symptoms" such as depression and anxiety, as well as aspects like brain fog, insomnia and a feeling of malaise after even minor exertion.

"Encouragingly, emerging data from other studies" suggests there is a lower rate of long Covid in people who have been vaccinated or infected with the Omicron variant, they said in a linked Lancet comment.

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Originally published as Long Covid symptoms affects one in eight, study suggests