One in five persons under the age of 65 have lengthy COVID, according to research, but more research is still needed to fully understand the disease. There are actually four primary kinds of protracted COVID, according to a recent study.
In the study, which was printed in the journal Nature Medicine, clusters of symptoms in nearly 35,000 individuals with protracted COVID were analyzed using machine learning. (After contracting COVID-19, each patient experienced at least one residual symptom that persisted for between 30 and 180 days.) The patients were categorized into four distinct groups using an algorithm that considered 137 different symptoms.
This study is not the first to attempt to categorize lengthy COVID. Long-lasting COVID symptoms were split into three groups in a study that was published last year: cognitive, respiratory, and other symptoms.
Fei Wang, Ph.D., co-author of the most recent study and assistant professor of healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medicine, says, "There have been quite a few existing studies demonstrating the existence of a broad range of potential long COVID symptoms and signs, but it is still not clear whether they are more likely to co-appear in certain ways or appear individually." By finding extended COVID sub-phenotypes, our work seeks to close this knowledge gap.
What are the many subtypes that the researchers discovered, though, and why does this matter? What you should know is as follows.
What are the subtypes of long COVID?
According to the study's findings, long-term COVID patients typically fit into one of the following categories:
- 1.Cardiovascular and renal (kidney) system disorders
- 2.Diseases that affect the respiratory system, sleep issues, and anxiety
- 3.Musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders
- 4.Conditions that affect the respiratory and digestive systems
The subtype affecting the cardiac and renal systems, which included 34% of patients, was shown to be the most prevalent. The second group of patients, however, comprised 33% of those with respiratory problems, anxiety, persistent headaches, and sleeplessness.
Following that, 23% of patients had illnesses affecting the musculoskeletal and neurological systems, while just 10% had conditions affecting the gut.
Long COVID symptoms
Long COVID, also known as post-COVID diseases, are still being researched, however the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a list of symptoms that it has also divided into categories. These consist of:
1.general signs
2.fatigue that affects regular activities
3.symptoms that worsen following an exertion of the body or mind
4.Fever
Respiratory and heart symptoms
Respiratory issues or lack of breath
Cough
Heart palpitations & chest pain
Neurological symptoms
mental haze
Headache
Issues with sleep
Standing up makes you feel queasy
Feelings of tension
A change in flavor or aroma
Moodiness or worry
intestinal signs
Diarrhea
abdominal pain
Additional signs
Muscle or joint pain
Rash
alterations to menstrual cycle
There are "symptoms that are hard to explain and manage," according to the CDC.
Why is this important?
The study merely categorized the data; it didn't necessarily reveal anything novel about lengthy COVID. According to William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, long COVID is a widespread complication of COVID-19, making it challenging for medical professionals to accurately diagnose those who may be affected and determine the best course of treatment. He comments, "This is an excellent method to identify the various long COVID varieties. Given that there is no test for it, it will help clinicians realize when patients visit them and may in fact have lengthy COVID.
According to Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York, not all people with lengthy COVID will neatly fit into a category. But, he asserts, categorizing this wide condition can assist medical professionals and researchers discover patterns. He speculates that "perhaps some processes or a particular mechanism is driving a subtype more than another." According to him, greater research and eventually treatments for those specific patients may result from doctors being able to understand why patients in particular subtypes are ill.
Can this information be used to treat lengthy COVID?
According to Dr. Wang, understanding how long COVID subtypes last may "inform future research" and affect the creation of medical protocols and governmental guidelines.
According to Dr. Schaffner, efforts to understand extended COVID are "going in the correct direction." As general internists and family physicians learn more about protracted COVID and its many symptoms, he claims, "it's being identified more frequently." In an effort to better understand why the disorder occurs and how to treat patients, many large medical facilities have now established lengthy COVID clinics. According to Dr. Schaffner, "when you gather patients together, you can analyze lengthy COVID and come up with new approaches to help people."
Dr. Schaffner advises contacting your healthcare practitioner first if you think you could have lengthy COVID. If you need assistance, they might be able to send you to a specialist or a speciality extended COVID clinic. In order to accurately convey to your healthcare provider what is wrong with you, Dr. Wang advises that you "closely observe" the signs and symptoms you experience.