Only 29% of UK Covid hospital patients recover within a year

Fewer than one in three people who have been hospitalised with Covid-19 have fully recovered a year after they succumbed to infection.

That is the shock finding of a survey into the impact of long Covid in the UK. The team of scientists and doctors at Leicester University also found that women had poorer recovery rates than men after hospitalisation, while obesity was also likely to hinder a person’s prospects of health improvements.

Among the symptoms reported by patients a year after their initial infection were fatigue, muscle pain, poor sleep and breathlessness.

“Given that more than 750,000 people have been hospitalised in the UK with Covid-19 over the past two years, it is clear from our research that the legacy of this disease is going to be huge,” said Rachael Evans, one of the study’s authors.

The team stressed their results show there is now an urgent need to develop ways to tackle Long Covid. “Without effective treatments, Long Covid could become a highly prevalent long-term condition,” said Professor Chris Brightling, another author.

A critical factor in these poor rates of recovery was the lack of treatments that exist for Long Covid, added Professor Louise Wain, who was also involved in the study. “No specific therapeutics exist for long Covid and our data highlights that effective interventions are urgently required.”

The researchers also found that many of those reporting impairment in the wake of their hospitalisation were suffering from persistent inflammation. “That suggests these groups might respond to anti-inflammatory strategies,” added Wain.

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Source: The Guardian, 24 April 2022