Long-term health consequences of COVID-19 (5 October)

Summary

Because COVID-19 is a new disease, much about the clinical course remains uncertain – in particular, the possible long-term health consequences, if any. This article, published by JAMA, looks at the available data on neurological, cardiovascular, pulmonary manifestations of the virus. It also looks at the impact on mental health and wellbeing.

The authors conclude:

"It is imperative that the care of this vulnerable patient population take a multidisciplinary approach, with a thoughtfully integrated research agenda, to avoid health system fragmentation and to allow the comprehensive study of long-term health consequences of COVID-19 on multiple organ systems and overall health and well-being. Furthermore, such an approach will provide the opportunity to efficiently and systematically conduct studies of therapeutic interventions to mitigate the adverse physical and mental health effects among hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who recover from COVID-19."