There are five main risk factors that may increase the chance people experience long-term COVID-19 symptoms, according to findings published by medRxiv.
Researchers at King's College London analyzed data from 4,182 users of the COVID Symptom Study app who had COVID-19 and consistently logged health data on the app. The findings appeared as a preprint on medRxiv and have not been peer reviewed yet.
Five study findings:
1. Overall, 1 in 20 people with COVID-19 are likely to suffer symptoms for at least eight weeks.
2. "Long COVID" is more likely to affect older people, found in about 10 percent of people ages 18 to 49 testing positive for COVID-19 compared to 22 percent of those over 70 years old.
3. Weight also plays a role, with overweight people more likely to report long-term symptoms.
4. Women were more likely to suffer from "long COVID" than men (14.5 percent compared with 9.5 percent), but only in the younger age group.
5. People reporting a wide range of initial symptoms were more likely to develop long-term symptoms, as were people with asthma.
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