Long Covid can impair quality of life more than advanced cancers, study says

Many people with Long Covid have a lower health-related quality of life than people with some advanced cancers, research suggests.

Fatigue is the symptom with the greatest impact on the daily lives of Long Covid patients, according to a study led by researchers at University College London (UCL) and the University of Exeter. They found that many were seriously ill and had fatigue scores worse than or similar to people with cancer-related anaemia or severe kidney disease.

Their health-related quality of life scores were also lower than those of people with advanced metastatic cancers, such as stage 4 lung cancer. Overall, the impact of long Covid on the daily activities of patients was worse than that for stroke patients and comparable to people with Parkinson’s disease.

The study co-author Prof William Henley, of Exeter University medical school, said: “Long Covid is an invisible condition, and many people are left trying to manage significant changes to how they can function.

“Shockingly, our research has revealed that Long Covid can leave people with worse fatigue and quality of life than some cancers, yet the support and understanding is not at the same level. We urgently need more research to enable the development of evidence-based services to support people trying to manage this debilitating new condition.”

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Source: The Guardian, 8 June 2023