Younger ‘long Covid’ victims suffer multiple organ damage: Health issues can linger for months

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Up to 70% of young ‘long Covid’ victims suffer organ damage four months after beating the infection, study shows

  • Study of patients with ‘long Covid’ shows almost 70% have damage to an organ 
  • More than 60,000 Britons are thought to be affected by long-lasting symptoms
  • The data sheds light on the impact of the virus on people deemed low-risk 

By Elliot Mulligan For The Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

Younger patients with ‘long Covid’ can suffer damage to multiple organs four months after infection, according to a study.

More than 60,000 Britons are thought to be affected by long-lasting symptoms of Covid-19, including fatigue, breathlessness and pain.

The study sheds light on the impact of the virus on people deemed low-risk.

Early data from the report by Coverscan has shown almost 70 per cent have damage to one or more organs including the heart and lungs. 

A study of patients with ‘long Covid’ shows almost 70% have damage to one or more organs

Associate professor Amitava Banerjee, of University College London, said 25 per cent of patients had damage to two or more organs.

She added: ‘This is of interest because we need to know if [the impairments] continue or improve – or if there is a sub-group of people who could get worse.’

Out of the 201 patients in the study, 197 said they suffered fatigue, 176 muscle ache and 166 headaches.

In some patients there was a connection between the symptoms and damaged organs. 

More than 60,000 Britons are thought to be affected by long-lasting symptoms of Covid-19, including fatigue, breathlessness and pain

More than 60,000 Britons are thought to be affected by long-lasting symptoms of Covid-19, including fatigue, breathlessness and pain

Heart or lung damage was linked to breathlessness while liver and pancreas impairments were associated with gastrointestinal symptoms.

None of the patients was scanned before developing Covid-19, meaning some of them may have had pre-existing conditions. The average age was 44.

Yesterday, the NHS announced it is opening 40 long Covid clinics this month to assess physical and psychological symptoms. 

NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: ‘Long Covid is already having a very serious impact on many people’s lives and could well go on to affect hundreds of thousands.’

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LONG COVID AND HOW BAD IS THE PROBLEM?

Covid-19 is described as a short-term illness caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. 

Public health officials tend to say people will recover within two weeks or so. 

However, it’s become increasingly clear that this is not the case for everyone, and that the two-week period is only the ‘acute illness’ phase.

The North Bristol NHS Trust’s Discover project, which is studying the longer-term effects of coronavirus, is just one of a handful of studies to have shown the long impact of Covid-19. However, it only studied hospital patients.

A total of 163 patients with coronavirus were recruited to the study. Nineteen of those died. The remainder were invited for a three-month check-up and 110 attended. 

Most (74 per cent) had at least one persistent symptom after twelve weeks. The most common were:

  • Excessive fatigue: 39%
  • Breathlessness: 39%
  • Insomnia: 24%  
  • Muscle pain: 23%
  • Chest pain: 13%
  • Cough: 12%
  • Loss of smell: 12%
  • Headache, fever, joint pain and diarrhoea: Each less than 10% 

Patients who had suffered more severe Covid-19 reported more symptoms on their follow-up.      

Other long term symptoms that have been reported by Covid-19 survivors, both suspected and confirmed, anecdotally, include:

  • Hearing problems 
  • ‘Brain fog’
  • Memory loss
  • A lack of concentration
  • Mental health problems
  • Hair loss