Why do people drop dead three years after getting Covid? Scientists discover ‘serious threat’

What explains this phenomenon?

“We’re not sure why the effects of the virus last so long,” said senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, an oncologist at the University of Washington and world leader in long-term COVID research.

“Maybe it’s related to viral persistence, chronic inflammation, immune dysfunction or all of the above. We tend to think of illnesses as short-term illnesses. which have health consequences during the infection. Our data contradicts this theory. I feel that COVID-19 continues to teach us – and this is an important new lesson – that a momentary, seemingly innocuous or harmless encounter with the virus can still lead to health problems years later.”

Al-Aly’s previous research has documented the damage of COVID-19 to almost every human organ, contributing to diseases and conditions affecting the lungs, heart, brain and blood, musculoskeletal system and gastrointestinal (GI).

Such studies with long-term follow-up are limited, said Al-Aly, a nephrologist who treats patients at the Washington University-affiliated John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital in downtown St. Louis. Louis.

However, a study of nearly 160,000 participants published last year also found COVID-19 patients retain a higher risk of death for at least 18 months after infection.

Compared to uninfected people, the odds of dying in COVID-19 patients were 81 times higher in the first three weeks of infection and remained five times higher for months 18 later.

“Patients with COVID-19 were more likely to have more heart conditions compared to uninfected participants, which may have resulted in greater risk of death,” said the author of study Professor Ian CK Wong of the University of Hong Kong, China.

As a result of the findings, published in the journal Cardiovascular Research, the professor suggested that patients with COVID-19 should be monitored for at least a year after recovery from acute illness to detect complications of the infectious heart, which is part of infection. Covid is long.

Silver cloth

Recent studies are not all bad news. The cumulative risk of death is significantly reduced one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection among people who were not hospitalized for the virus, researchers found.

This population accounts for the majority of people who have had COVID-19.

A new study, published on May 30 in Nature Medicine, followed the health effects of the virus in people three years after being infected with the first type of COVID-19 in 2020.

That year, nearly 20 million people were diagnosed with the virus in the United States. The new study examined the risk of death and 80 adverse health conditions in people three years after being diagnosed with COVID-19. , the nation’s largest integrated health care system.

The study included more than 114,000 veterans with mild COVID-19 who did not require hospitalization; more than 20,000 hospitalized patients with COVID-19; and 5.2 million veterans who are not infected with COVID-19. Patients were enrolled in the study from March 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020, and followed for at least three years, until Dec. 31, 2023. Patients included people of different ages, races and genders; the statistical model confirmed the fit in the representation.

In the third year after infection, hospitalized COVID-19 patients had a 34 percent higher risk of all organ systems compared to people who did not. COVID. That number is down from a 182 percent increased risk one year after a COVID infection and a 57 percent risk two years after that.

Among non-hospitalized patients, the researchers found a five percent increased risk of prolonged COVID-19 in the third year after infection. This translates into 41 more health problems per 1,000 people – a small but not insignificant burden. Long-term health outcomes in the third year affected mainly the GI, pulmonary and neurological systems. In comparison, the risk increased by 23 percent one year after infection and increased by 16 percent two years later.

In the analysis, the researchers also measured and compared the number of healthy people lost to COVID-19. They found that among those not hospitalized, in the three years after infection, COVID-19 contributed to 10 years of lost health per thousand people. In comparison, three years after infection, those hospitalized for COVID-19 had 90 years of lost health per 1,000 people.

On average, in the US, heart disease and cancer cause about 50 years of lost health per 1,000 people, while stroke contributes to 10 years of lost health per 1,000 people .

“That a mild infection with SARS-CoV-2 can lead to new health problems three years down the road is alarming,” said Al-Aly, who is also the director of the Institute of Epidemiology Clinic at VA St. Louis Health Care System. , and head of research and development services.

“The problem is even worse for people with severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is very worrying that the disease burden among hospitalized people is higher than astrology.”

He said: “COVID-19 is a serious threat to the long-term health and well-being of people, and it should not be underestimated.

The long-term extension of Covid may change when researchers include data from more than 2020 years. At that time, vaccines and antivirals had not yet been developed. Similarly, the Al-Aly test does not consider the following types such as omicron or delta.

“Even three years away, you may have forgotten about COVID-19, but Covid has not forgotten about you,” said Al-Aly.

“People may think they are out of the woods, because they had the virus and had no health problems. But three years after infection, the virus can still wreak havoc and cause disease or illness in the intestines, lungs or brain.