CHICAGO – Nov. 22, 2024 – Since older adults have been more severely affected by acute COVID-19, researchers have hypothesized that older adults may have worse long COVID symptoms as well.
Despite vaccinations and boosters, about 30 percent of COVID patients develop some long COVID symptoms.
· Among those patients, 200 had been previously hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia while the rest had mild initial COVID-19 symptoms and never required hospitalization.
· The study is a first-of-its-kind to look at the neurologic symptoms of long COVID over an adult lifespan.
· The goal was to determine if the neurologic symptoms of long COVID affect adults differently based on their age group.
Chicago, Nov. 22, 2024 – Because acute COVID-19 has impacted older adults more severely, researchers have theorized that older adults may also experience worse long-term COVID symptoms. However, Northwestern Medicine researchers discovered that younger (ages 18–44) and middle-aged (ages 45–64) adults had worse neurologic symptoms of long COVID than adults 65 and older, on average, 10 months after the onset of the virus. This research was published in the Annals of Neurology, an official journal of the American Neurological Association. Headache, tingling and numbness, taste and smell issues, blurred vision, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, exhaustion, and memory loss were among the symptoms. Regardless of the patient’s severity of COVID-19 infection, these symptoms persisted.
Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine, who is in charge of the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center, stated that although the number of COVID-19 deaths is still declining, people continue to contract the virus repeatedly and may develop long-lasting COVID during this time. Long-term COVID is changing the quality of life for patients. In spite of vaccinations and booster shots, approximately 30% of COVID patients experience some persistent symptoms. Given that COVID is a major contributor to the leading global burden of disease and disability due to neurological disorders, these findings have enormous implications for public health. “”.
ASSESSMENT HIGHLIGHTS.
The study comprised the first 1,300 patients with neurologic long COVID symptoms who were seen at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic between May 2020 and March 2023.
The remaining patients had mild initial COVID-19 symptoms and were never hospitalized, while 200 of those patients had previously been hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia.
This study examines the neurologic symptoms of long-term COVID-19 in adults for the first time.
· The objective was to find out if adults’ neurologic symptoms of long-term COVID differed according to their age group.
“Younger adults in their prime are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in terms of morbidity and disability, as they contribute significantly to our society’s workforce, productivity, and innovation,” Dr. Dot Koralnik stated. This could hurt the economy and put more strain on the healthcare system. This study emphasizes the significance of offering treatment and rehabilitation services to individuals with Long COVID at all ages in order to reduce symptoms and enhance quality of life. “”.
