Corona reinfection, increased risk of complications to body organs

Older adults account for 88% of hospitalized deaths
The infection cannot be diagnosed with a single test

Although the pandemic has passed and normal life has returned, many patients are still in this situation, in June the American Academy of Sciences announced the damage caused by chronic coronavirus infection. It is a chronic coronary artery disease related to an infection that affects one or more organs and exists in a persistent, relapsing, remitting, or progressive pathological state for at least 3 months after infection. Presentation of content compiled by AARP.

▶Corona is forgotten

I am no longer afraid of Corona. Over 98% of the US population has some level of immunity due to vaccination or previous infection, and paxrovid and the drug can suppress acute symptoms. Now it’s like a bad cold. But Covid-19 has not disappeared. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the coronavirus still kills at least 1,000 people every week worldwide. In addition, the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions remain the groups most at risk of severe acute COVID-19.

According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), seniors aged 65 and older accounted for 63% of hospitalizations and 88% of deaths due to COVID-19 in the first half of 2023.

Most of the risk of acute coronavirus infection has disappeared, but the damage from chronic coronavirus infection is being revealed. Over the past four years, 10-20% of people infected with COVID-19 have suffered chronic damage from COVID-19. According to a 2022 study, reinfection can increase the risk of complications in major organ systems, and this risk persists for at least six months after the initial infection. It has also been argued that many chronic disease processes, such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cancer, take years to develop.

▶Chronic Corona and Mortality Rate

Last July, the coronavirus accounted for less than 1% of all U.S. deaths. Life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.5 years, which has been rising for the past two years but is still below pre-pandemic levels. Many factors influence this, but it is clear that the long-term damage from the coronavirus has had an impact.

A study published in the journal Nature Medicine found that people hospitalized with COVID-19 had a 29% higher risk of dying three years after infection. People who were not hospitalized were also found to have an increased risk of a variety of medical problems. Even patients who had a mild bout with COVID-19 were at increased risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological problems that persisted for three years after initial infection. Chronic coronavirus patients were at significantly higher risk of serious health problems affecting the brain, lungs, and heart.

One theory to explain the effects of chronic COVID on the heart and the body in general is inflammation. Each time you get infected, your risk of getting chronic coronavirus may increase, and you may develop some heart problems. This is especially true if you have a history of heart disease, including stroke, heart disease, and heart attack. Things can get worse when the virus invades coronary artery tissue and triggers an inflammatory response that can damage the heart.

Vaccination is also an important factor. Vaccination can reduce the risk of developing chronic coronavirus. Vaccination rates tend to increase with age, with seniors aged 75 and older being the most vaccinated and therefore best protected against chronic Covid. This may explain why chronic corona affects people between the ages of 35 and 64. According to the CDC, the risk appears to decrease for people over the age of 65.

▶Special symptoms

A single test cannot determine whether a person has chronic coronavirus. Chronic COVID is usually diagnosed by examining the patient’s health history and current symptoms and ruling out other causes. There is no complete treatment. What the doctor can do is call a specialist, such as a cardiologist who treats arrhythmia or a therapist who treats anxiety, to provide intensive treatment. There are chronic coronavirus centers in the United States.

If chronic COVID-19 significantly limits one or more major life activities, it is recognized as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Here are some conditions that may persist months or even years after an acute coronavirus infection:

1. Extreme fatigue = It is common to feel tired as your body fights off illness. Some people are experiencing fatigue long after the initial coronavirus infection. You may be diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, which has been on the rise since the pandemic began. It is a debilitating level of fatigue that severely limits your daily activities. Persistent fatigue may be caused by limited energy production within your muscles due to mitochondrial damage caused by the coronavirus infection.

2. Difficulty breathing = A chest CT scan of 144 patients aged 27 to 80 found that more than a third of those infected with the coronavirus had scarring and thickening of the lungs even two years after contact with the virus. You will not be able to breathe fresh, deep air, which can lead to difficulty breathing.

3. Cognitive Changes = Decreased concentration, blankness, and forgetfulness are just some of the brain problems that coronavirus can cause. It can last for weeks or months, and for some chronic COVID patients, it can become a routine that lasts indefinitely. It can linger in human organs for a long time, change the microbiome, and interfere with the ability to produce serotonin, causing cognitive impairment.

4. Depression and Anxiety = Mood disorders are one of the five problems caused by the coronavirus. There may be a direct link between the effects of the virus on the brain and mood problems. It has been reported that 11 to 28% of people showed symptoms of depression 12 weeks after infection and of these, 3 to 12% had severe symptoms.

5. Sleep disturbances = 40% of chronic coronavirus patients reported significant changes in their sleep patterns. Among 1,056 COVID-19 patients, 76.1% suffered from insomnia and 22.8% suffered from severe insomnia.

6. Digestive problems = diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, bloating, and gas: These symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome can be side effects. A survey of 729 survivors found that 29% experienced at least one new chronic gastrointestinal symptom in the six months after infection.

7. New allergy or worsening of allergy = Some people experience allergies they have never had before. Studies have shown that the risk of developing allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis increases significantly within the first 30 days of being diagnosed with coronavirus. This may be because the immune system remains hyperactive even after fighting off the virus.

8. Pain = Some survivors struggle with chronic pain, from joint pain to testicular pain. The risk of inflammatory arthritis is higher, and women are at greater risk than men.

Journalist Jang Byeong-hee