This new study from the University of Oxford and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) investigated long-COVID in over 270,000 people recovering from COVID-19 infection, using data from the US-based TriNetX electronic health record network.
The study reports on how commonly nine core long-COVID symptoms were diagnosed, and how this rate compared to people recovering from influenza. The nine core long-COVID symptoms, occurring 90-180 days after COVID-19 was diagnosed, comprise:
- Abnormal breathing – 8%
- Abdominal symptoms – 8%
- Anxiety/depression – 15%
- Chest/throat pain – 6%
- Cognitive problems (‘brain fog’) – 4%
- Fatigue – 6%
- Headache – 5%
- Myalgia (muscle pain) – 1.5%
- Other pain – 7%
- Any of the above features – 37%
Higher rates were seen if the whole 1-180 day period after COVID-19 infection was included.