Nearly 1 in 3 adults over 65 had a new condition post-Covid
New research from the US has found that almost a third of older adults who caught COVID-19 went on to develop at least one new condition that required medical attention.
The study, published in The BMJ, discovered that 32 out of every 100 adults over 65 that they studied went on to develop any of a range of conditions that affected the heart, kidney, lungs or their mental health after they were first infected.
In comparison, only 21 percent of those in the control groups - who didn’t catch Covid - developed a new condition.
To understand the risk of additional illness older adults faced after a COVID-19 diagnosis, the researchers used health insurance records to identify 133,366 people over the age of 65 who were diagnosed with the virus before April 1, 2020.
These individuals were matched to three control groups from 2020, 2019, and a group diagnosed with a viral lower respiratory tract illness (RTI), which included the flu, viral bronchitis and non-bacterial pneumonia.
The team then recorded any persistent or new conditions 21 days after a diagnosis of Covid, and calculated the excess risk of developing these conditions due to Covid based on age, race, sex and whether patients were treated for the virus in a hospital.
When compared to the 2020 and 2019 non-covid groups, patients who had Covid were at more risk of developing conditions including respiratory failure (an extra 7.55 percent), fatigue (5.66 percent higher), high blood pressure (an extra 4.43 percent), and a mental health diagnosis (2.5 percent more)
However, the difference between Covid patients and those with a viral lower RTI was much smaller, with risks of respiratory failure, dementia and fatigue being higher.
Additionally, the team found the risk of developing several conditions was higher for those who were men, black, or over the age of 75.
Though this is only an observational study, the researchers argue it is important to understand the health risks the millions of people who have had Covid face.
“These findings further highlight the wide range of important sequelae (new conditions) after acute infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” they wrote.
“Understanding the magnitude of risk for the most important clinical sequelae might enhance their diagnosis and management of individuals.
“Also, our research can help providers and other key stakeholders anticipate the scale of future health complications and improve planning for the use of healthcare resources.”
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