Experts at the University of Groningen Medical Center in the Netherlands have calculated that every eighth person who becomes ill develops at least one symptom of long-term COVID-19. They talked more about this in a magazine article. Lancet.
Scientists analyzed data on more than 76.4 thousand residents of the Netherlands. From March 2020 to August 2021, study participants completed a questionnaire 24 times showing which of the 23 common symptoms of long-term COVID-19 they had. During that time, more than 4,200 of those surveyed were COVID-19 patients. More than 21% of these had at least one new or worsening old symptom 3-5 months after improvement. At the same time, similar changes in complaints were observed in 9% of the control group.
This shows that 12.7 percent (about one-eighth) of people who contract COVID-19 suffer from long-term symptoms, the authors wrote.
The most common complaints were chest pain, shortness of breath, muscle pain, loss of taste and smell, and general fatigue.