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Study Finds Many Post-Covid Patients Are Experiencing New Medical Problems - The New York Times
Jun 15, 2021 1 min, 57 secs
An analysis of health insurance records of almost two million coronavirus patients found new issues in nearly a quarter — including those whose Covid infection was mild or asymptomatic.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sought medical care for post-Covid health problems that they had not been diagnosed with before becoming infected with the coronavirus, according to the largest study to date of long-term symptoms in Covid-19 patients.

The study, tracking the health insurance records of nearly two million people in the United States who contracted the coronavirus last year, found that one month or more after their infection, almost one-quarter — 23 percent — of them sought medical treatment for new conditions.

While nearly half of patients who were hospitalized for Covid-19 experienced subsequent medical issues, so did 27 percent of people who had mild or moderate symptoms and 19 percent of people who said they were asymptomatic.

Gelburd said the fact that asymptomatic people can have post-Covid symptoms is important to emphasize, so that patients and doctors can know to consider the possibility that some health issues may actually be aftereffects of the coronavirus.

In the new study, the most common issue for which patients sought medical care was pain — including nerve inflammation and aches and pains associated with nerves and muscles — which was reported by more than 5 percent of patients or nearly 100,000 people, more than a fifth of those who reported post-Covid problems.

Nearly 3 percent of patients sought treatment for symptoms that were labeled with diagnostic codes for malaise and fatigue, a far-reaching category that could include issues like brain fog and exhaustion that gets worse after physical or mental activity — effects that have been reported by many people with long Covid.

Other new issues for patients, especially adults in their 40s and 50s, included high cholesterol, diagnosed in 3 percent of all post-Covid patients, and high blood pressure, diagnosed in 2.4 percent, the report said.

Chu said people without insurance or with incomes low enough to qualify for Medicaid are often “more likely to have worse outcomes,” so the findings may understate the prevalence of some post-Covid health problems or may not represent the full picture.

The FAIR Health report excluded patients with certain serious or chronic pre-existing conditions like cancer, kidney disease, H.I.V., liver disease and stroke because researchers said it would be difficult to separate their previous health status from post-Covid symptoms.

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