A new study suggests that specific symptoms of COVID-19 can predict how long the symptoms can last, suggesting that there are symptoms that predict whether someone will become a long-distance traveler or not.
What is happening?
A new study published on Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature Medicine found that patients who suffer from five specific symptoms of COVID-19 in the first week of the disease are more likely to become long-distance practitioners.
These five symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Hoarse voice
- Muscle pain
- Difficulty breathing
A look at the numbers
According to USA Today, the study comes from researchers at King’s College London, Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. Researchers in the study asked COVID-19 patients in the U.S., UK and Sweden about their symptoms through a survey of smartphone apps.
- The study found that 13% of the 4,000 participants reported symptoms that lasted more than 28 days. Meanwhile, 4% reported symptoms for eight weeks and 2% reported symptoms for more than 12 days, according to USA Today.
- The study’s co-author, Dr. Christina Astley, a medical scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital, told USA Today: “If you think about it, 1 in 20 people who have COVID-19 will have symptoms that last eight weeks or more.”
Other research
A study by researchers at the University of Washington revealed that some of the common symptoms of COVID-19 for long-haulers include fatigue, which was reported by 13.6% of participants, and loss of smell and taste was also reported by 13.6 %.
Another 13% said they suffered from muscle pain, breathing problems, cough and brain fog months after the infection, which I wrote for Deseret News.
- “Our research indicates that the health consequences of COVID-19 go far beyond acute infection, even among those with mild illnesses,” wrote the authors in the study, according to LiveScience.